
Glass B S b O 

Book, y fx 
GojyrightN?._ 







COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT; 



Lutheran 
Teacher-Training Series 

FOR THE SUNDAY SCHOOL 

/ 



/ 






PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE SUNDAY 
SCHOOL LITERATURE COMMITTEE OF THE 
BOARD OF THE LUTHERAN PUBLI- 
CATION SOCIETY 



BOOK ONE 

THE BIBLE: A GENERAL INTRODUCTION 

By Herbert C. Aeleman, D.D. 



« ) > 

* „ w 



PHILADELPHIA, PA. 

THE LUTHERAN PUBLICATION SOCIETY 






Copyright, 1914, by 
THE LUTHERAN PUBLICATION SOCIETY 



NOV 16 1914 



GLA388392 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE 

It is with a sense of satisfaction that we present this series of 
Sunday School Teacher-Training handbooks. Their preparation has 
been in response to a frequently expressed desire on the part of 
many of our pastors and teachers. The committee has felt the dif- 
ficulty of the task and the many conditions to be met. Much con- 
sideration has been given to the work, and not a little revision has 
been found necessary. To enter a field already largely occupied 
and vindicate our claim that such a series is needed, is no small 
task. These books have been made, not because there are not 
already many excellent books on teacher-training, but because none 
of them covers all the ground we deem requisite. Nothing needs 
to be more carefully guarded than the character of the literature 
we give to our Sunday schools. Especially is this true of the helps 
for the study and teaching of God's word. We lay emphasis upon 
child-nurture from the viewpoint of our Church's teaching, that 
baptized children are members of the Church of Christ. The re- 
sponsibility of the Sunday school in teaching the child is the re- 
sponsibility of the Church. The teacher, therefore, should know 
not only his Bible and its message, not only the laws of child- 
thought and the best methods of influencing the unfolding soul, but 
he should know what his Church stands for and what it teaches. 
With this conception of our responsibility we have chosen the sub- 
jects and the writers. The work speaks for itself. We believe it 
will be found adapted to the better equipment of our Lutheran 
teachers. The series consists of four books, as follows: "The 
Bible : A General Introduction," "The Pupil and the Teacher," "The 
Message of the Book" and "The Lutheran Church and Child- 
Nurture." The aim of these books is to furnish the teachers and 

(v) 






vi INTRODUCTORY NOTE 

officers of our Sunday school with a working knowledge of the 
Bible as a book and as the message of God to men; of the person- 
ality of the pupils, and the principles and methods to be applied 
in teaching them; of the organization, aim and work of the Sun- 
day school, and of our Lutheran views of the chdds relafon to 

the Church. 

Sunday School Literature Committee. 



BOOK ONE 

THE BIBLE : A GENERAL INTRODUCTION 
By Herbert C. Alleman, D.D. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

LESSON 

PAGE 

I. The Book as We Know It I3 

II. The Books of the Book I7 

III. The Canon: Authority 2I 

IV. Inspiration : Method 2 e 

V. The Pentateuch : Genesis 30 

VI. Patriarchal History 

VII. Patriarchal History.— Continued 37 

VIII. The Exodus and Sinai 40 

IX. The Wilderness Wanderings 44 

X. Joshua and the Settlement of the Land 47 

XI. The Period of the Judges c Q 

XII. The Rise of the Monarchy e 4 

XIII. The United Monarchy e 7 

XIV. Solomon and the Disruption 6 

XV. The Kingdom of Israel g~ 

XVI. The Kingdom of Judah . a 7 

XVII. The Captivity and the Restoration jo 

XVIII. The Prophets „J 

• 74 

XIX. Amos, the Prophet of the Moral Law 78 

XX. Hosea, the Prophet of Love 3 X 

XXI. Isaiah, the Prophet of Faith g 4 

XXII. Isaiah, the Prophet of Consolation 88 

XXIII. Jeremiah, the Prophet of the Inner Life 0I 

XXIV. EZEKIEL, THE PROPHET OF ESTABLISHED RELIGION.. 95 

XXV. The Remaining Prophets Q 3 

XXVI. The Poetry of the Bible.. I02 

XX VII. The Gospels : Life of Christ I0 5 

XXVIII. Gospel History: Christ's Ministry. II0 



LESSON 
XXIX. 

XXX. 

XXXI. 

XXXII. 

XXXIII. 

XXXIV. 

XXXV. 

XXXVI. 

XXXVII. 

XXXVIII. 

XXXIX. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Apostolic History: The Early Church 113 

Apostolic History: Expansion of the Church.. 117 

The Epistles I22 

The Geography of the Bible 126 

The Geography of the Bible.— Continued 129 

Historical Geography *32 

Institutions of the Old Testament 136 

Institutions of the New Testament 141 

Language and External Form 145 

Our English Bible • I 5o 

Our English Bible.— Continued 154 

Charts and Maps 157-161 



FOREWORD 

The importance of the study of the Bible in the work of teacher- 
training can be judged by the minimum requirement of the First 
Standard Course established by the Committee of Education of the 
International Sunday School Association, which is "fifty lesson 
periods, of which at least twenty lessons shall be devoted to the 
study of the Bible" 

The Advanced Standard Course requires fifty lessons devoted to 
the study of the Bible. An increase of this number is contemplated. 
This book has been designed to meet these requirements, the number 
of lessons being determined by the fact that a year's study is con- 
templated. The author believes that nothing essential is omitted 
in this course. It is his hope, also, that the book may be found use- 
ful in schools and Bible classes. This book has received official 
recognition as an Advanced Standard Course. An examination 
upon it is necessary for those seeking an Advanced Standard 
diploma. This course is recommended by our Sunday School 
Literature Committee. 

The course of study consists in answering the questions, which 
have been prepared with a view to simplicity. As the lessons on 
the several books of the Bible are necessarily little more than out- 
lines, nothing can take the place of a careful reading of the Bible 
text itself. The lessons are not of uniform length, because, in the 
historical section, periods are the units of division, and all periods 
are not of uniform importance or described in equal detail. For 
some classes the lessons may need to be divided, with others several 
lessons may be combined. 

(xi) 



Lutheran Teacher-Training Series 



BOOK I.— THE BIBLE 

LESSON I 

The Book as We Know It 

The Bible is the Sunday school teacher's manual, the instrument 
with which he is to do his work. It goes without saying that the 
teacher should know his Bible. How can he teach successfully if he 
does not know his text-book? The confession is frequently made by 
people that they never knew the Bible until they taught it, which 
means that they really never studied it until then. We have the 
deepest veneration for the Bible, but it is a question whether we 
have not buried it under our veneration. It has been well said: 
"Century after century men have failed to see what the Bible is. 
They have made a fetish of it, and under plea of its sacredness they 
have taken advantage of its many-sidedness to get rid of the task 
of mastering its essential teaching." 

I. Our first acquaintance with the Bible is as a book. Here it 
lies in our hand, a beautifully bound volume, made precious, doubt- 
less, by association. It bears the title "The Bible." The name Bible 
is really plural. It means "the books," from the Greek pUfac, the 
name of the papyrus reed on which ancient books were written. 
Rightly understood, therefore, the very title carries with it the dec- 
laration that the Bible is not a volume but a library. It is not one 
book but sixty-six. There are thirty-nine books in the Old Testa- 
ment, and then, after an interspace of four hundred silent years, we 
have the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. 

2. The names employed by the writers themselves confirm this 
view of the Bible. The New Testament writers speak of ai 
ypatpal which we translate Scriptures, a Latin word meaning 

(13) 



14 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

"writings." Sometimes they call the books the Sacred Script- 
ures* They also call the message of Scripture "the word of God. 

(Eph. vi. 17; Heb. iv. 12.) 

3 When we open our Bible we find it divided into many books but 
two main divisions. The first division is called the Old Testament; 
the second, the New Testament. The name Testament, as thus used, 
has an interesting history. It comes from a Greek word which means 
"arrangement" or "disposition," having the significance of a testa- 
ment or will. It is the word which the translators of the Septuagmt 
(see p 147) used by which to translate the Hebrew word for ' cove- 
nant" St Paul speaks of the Hebrew Scriptures read in the syna- 
gogues as the "old covenant" (2 Cor. iii. 14, R. V.), and of the minis- 
ters of Christ as "ministers of the new covenant" (2 Cor. 111. oj. 
Covenant in the Biblical sense means, as Dr. Ramsay has made clear, 
"not a compact between two parties, but an irrevocable promise made 
by God to His people, freely and on His absolute authority, a prom- 
ise of a religious inheritance into which they could enter by fulfilling 
the conditions which God on the same absolute authority imposed. 
But, as another has observed, the conditions are a part of God s 
beneficent arrangement. "The Old Testament means, therefore, that 
He would bless them and make them a blessing, the New Testament 
means God's full and final covenant with man of salvation through 
Jesus Christ," a covenant sealed by His blood. 

4 Each Testament is divided into a number of books. In the 
Hebrew Bible (our Old Testament) there are twenty-four, so that 
the Tews often spoke of their Scriptures as "the four and twenty ; 
and the whole is arranged in three divisions-the Law, the Prophets, 
and the Writings. 

I Law, i. e., the Pentateuch, the Five Books : 

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy .. 5 books 

II. Prophets, viz.: 

1 Former Prophets: (a) Joshua, (&) Judges, (c) 
Samuel, (d) Kings 4books 

2 Latter Prophets: (a) Isaiah, (b) Jeremiah, (c) 
Ezekiel, (d) the Twelve (Minor Prophets) 4books 

* By these terms they refer to the Jewish Scriptures, more particularly "the 
Law" and "the Prophets." The singular is also frequently used when a passage 
is indirectly quoted (John vii. ,8) or when the Old Testament Scriptures are re ; 
ferred to as a whole (John x. 35, Acts vii. 32, Rom. rv. 3). The word «Scr iptu res 
is never applied to their own writings by the Christian writers ot the first century. 



THE BOOK AS WE KNOW IT 15 

III. Writings— Hagiographa (Sacred Writings) : 

i. Three Books: (o) Psalms, (b) Proverbs, (c) Job. 3 books 

2. Five Rolls: (a) Song of Solomon, (b) Ruth, 

(c) Lamentations, (d) Ecclesiastes, (e) Esther. . 5 books 

3. (a) Daniel, (b) Ezra-Nehemiah, (c) Chronicles.. 3 books 



Total 24 books 

In our English Bible the Old Testament contains 39 books and the 
New Testament 27 books. These are all grouped in our Catechism, 
as follows : 

The books of the Old Testament are divided into: 

(1) The five books of Moses, also called the Pentateuch, namely, 
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. 

(2) The other historical books, namely, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 
First and Second Samuel, First and Second Kings, First and Second 
Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. 

(3) The poetical books, namely, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesi- 
astes or the Preacher, and the Song of Solomon. 

(4) The prophetical books, which are divided into the major 
prophets, namely, Isaiah, Jeremiah (including Lamentations), Eze- 
kiel, and Daniel; and the minor prophets, namely, Hosea, Joel, 
Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Hag- 
gai, Zechariah, and Malachi. 

The books of the New Testament are divided into : 

(1) The historical books, namely, the four Gospels, Matthew, 
Mark, Luke, and John, and the Acts of the Apostles. 

(2) The doctrinal books, namely, the fourteen epistles of St. 
Paul (Romans, First and Second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, 
Philippians, Colossians, First and Second Thessalonians, First and 
Second Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and Hebrews), the seven general 
epistles (James, First and Second Peter, First, Second and Third 
Epistles of John, and Jude). 

(3) The prophetical book, namely, the Revelation of St. John. 



16 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

QUESTIONS 

1. What is the relation of the Bible to the Sunday school teacher? 

2. What does the word "Bible" mean? 

3. What are some of the most common names of the Bible? 

4. What are the main divisions of the Bible? 

5. What is the meaning of the word Testament as here used? 

6. What are the main divisions of the Old Testament: (a) in the 
original Hebrew Scriptures; (ft) as given in our Catechism? 

7. What are the main divisions of the New Testament? 



LESSON II 

The Books of the Book 

The Sunday school teacher should know the books of the Bible if 
possible, in their order, and every Sunday school pupil should 'so 






^j 




1 



know them. This may seem a difficult task, but a little patience will 

s e ugge C sted e t0 ^^ lt A nUmbCr ° f hdpful meth0ds have been 
2 (17) 



18 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

One of the best devices is that of the Levin-De chant Chart cards, 
a cut* of which is on preceding page. 

Dr. Hurlbut, in his "Teacher-Training Lessons," and Dr. U. 
Myers, in his Catechism Chart, suggest the device of the human 
hand for the books of the Old Testament and the New Testament 
in turn, using the fingers to indicate the divisions specified for the 
blackboard below. 

A successful method is to take the blackboard and put down the 
names or initials of the books only just so far as the children learn 
them, classifying as you go; e. g, — 

I. 

0. T. 
i. G., E., L., N., D., (Pentateuch— Law) 5 books 

2. J., J., R., i and 2 S., I and 2 K., i and 2 Ch., E., N., E. 

(History) 12 books 

3. J., Ps., Pr., Ec, S. of S. (Poetry) 5 books 

4. Is., J. (L.), Ez, D. (Prophets— Major) 5 books 

5. Ho., Jo., Am.,' 



Ob., Jo., Mi., 
Na, Ha., Ze., 
Ha., Ze., Ma.^ 



(Prophets— Minor) -*I2 books 



Total 39 books 

In this skeleton of the books certain things are to be observed 
which help children quickly to master the whole list. One is, the 
repetition of "fives" and "twelves." Another is, the "historical 
group" comprises three single letters (two of them the same), three 
pairs of "firsts" and "seconds," and then three single letters (again 
two, the same). Another aid is the anagram of the names of the 
Minor Prophets, first suggested by a Yale divinity professor. Pen- 
tateuch means "5-pronged." Use the fingers and thumb of one hand 

to illustrate. 

II. 

N. T. 

1. Mt, Mk., L., J., A. (Historical) 5books 

2. R., 1 and 2 Cor., G., E., P., C, 1 and 2 Thes., 1 and 2 

Tim., Tit., P. (Paul's Letters) 13 books 

* Used by permission of the Reformed Board of Publication. These cards can 
be secured from The Lutheran Publication House, 1424 Arch Street, Philadel- 
phia, at 50 cents a hundred, postpaid. 



20 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

3. Heb. (author unknown) l book 

4. Ja., 1 and 2 P., 1, 2 and 3 Jo., Ju. (General Epistles) .... 7 books 

5. R. (Prophetical) I book 

Total 27 books 

The Pauline Epistles are difficult to master. It may help to group 
the first three, suggesting Rome and Greece; the next four, which 
replace the familiar "G. O. P." of our national cartoons with 
G. E. P., indicating the change by an added "C," giving us "G, E. 
P C"; then follow two pairs of "firsts" and "seconds" and two 
single names. Hebrews stands alone. The General Epistles were 
written by the three "favored disciples" (James once, Peter twice, 
John three times) and Jude. Revelation stands alone. 

QUESTIONS 

1. How many books are there in the Old Testament? Name 

them. 

2. How many books are there in the New Testament? Name 

them. 

3. How are these books grouped in the Levin-Dechant chart? 

4. How are these books grouped in the Myers' Catechism chart? 

5. How may we easily remember the order of the Minor Prophets? 
the Pauline Epistles? the General Epistles? 



LESSON III 
The Canon: Authority 

i. the canon 

1. These sixty-six books which we have been learning to know are 
called the Canon. The word Canon means "pattern" or "rule." 
The Bible is our "rule of faith." As such, not only does it tell us 
the truth of God which we are to believe and by which we are 
saved, but it is distinguished from all other books, particularly the 
Apocrypha* 

2. The Old Testament Canon was completed several hundred 
years before the books of the New Testament were written. Just 
how the Old Testament Canon was formed it would be difficult to 
tell. The process was a long and gradual one. There were at first 
smaller collections, and out of these the larger were made (cf. 
Deut. xxxi. 9 ff., I Sam. x. 25, Prov. xxv. 1). The Pentateuch was 
the first group, and, for a long time was all there was of the Script- 
ures. This is what Ezra read in the hearing of all the people (Neh. 
viii.). To this were added such annals of Israel's history and such 
portions of the prophets' writings as survived, forming the second 
of the great divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures. Then, finally, such 
"sacred writings" were gathered together as were deemed worthy 
to stand side by side with the Law and the Prophets. By the time 
of Christ there was a universal acceptance of the books we now 
know as the Old Testament Scriptures. 

3. The New Testament Canon. — The Hebrew Scriptures be- 
came the Bible of the early Christian Church. Around them in the 
course of time gathered collections of Christian writings to which 
canonical authority was ultimately given. There was no intention 

* The Old Testament Apocrypha, which in Luther's Bible stand between the 
Old Testament and the New Testament, are: 1 and 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, 
Esther Cparts not found in the Hebrew original), The Wisdom of Solomon, 
Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, The Song of the Three Holy Children, The History of 
Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, the Prayers of Manasses, 1 and 2 Maccabees — 
"books which are not of equal authority with the Scriptures, but profitable to read." 

(21) 



22 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

on the part of the writers to make Scripture— the reverence for the 
Old Testament which the Apostles inherited would have prevented 
such a thought. The writings were called forth by the circum- 
stances of the Church, and only afterwards were they gathered to- 
gether and invested with authority. The Epistles were written be- 
fore the Gospels, but the gospel was preached before the Epistles 
were written. The facts of the life of Christ and their application 
to our salvation formed the substance of apostolic preaching. With 
the extension of the Church and the removal of some of the apos- 
tles, the necessity fox a permanent record of these facts and truths 
began to press upon the apostolic circle. Luke explains how he 
came to write his Gospel in Luke i. 1-4. Meanwhile, the apostles 
had written letters to the churches they had established. In this 
Way the materials of the New Testament were accumulated. All of 
the books were probably written by the close of the first century 
of the Christian era, but it was not until the fourth century that 
they were commonly accepted as Scripture. 

II. AUTHORITY 

i. We naturally ask, How did these writings come to be recog- 
nized as the word of God? They differ widely in authorship, 
style and time of composition. The writers were not conscious 
that they were contributing to a book, yet the unity of their writ- 
ings is unmistakable. In what did this unity consist? There is no 
other answer honestly possible except that they are all in direct con- 
nection with God's historical revelation which culminated in Jesus 
Christ. This is the one thing that binds them together as with a 
golden cord. The test which Luther put to each book was — Does it 
occupy itself with Christ or does it not? He did not accept a book 
because it was bound up in a volume the Church believed to be in- 
spired; but he accepted it because it brought new life to him and 
proved itself of God. He did not accept Christ because he found 
Him in this book, but he accepted the book because it testified of 
Christ. "Herein agree all the genuine holy books," he said, "that 
they all preach and exhibit Christ." Roman Catholics accept the 
Scriptures on the authority of the Church and its traditions ; Prot- 
estants accept the Scriptures because of the witness which the 
Scriptures themselves bear. As Luther truly said, "The Church 
cannot give more force or authority to a book than it has in itself. 
A council cannot make that to be Scripture which in its own nature 
is not Scripture." Or as Dr. Robertson Smith puts it, "If I am 



THE CANON: AUTHORITY 23 

asked why I receive the Scriptures as the word of God, and as the 
only perfect rule of faith and life, I answer with all the fathers of 
the Protestant Church, Because the Bible is the only record of the 
redeeming love of God, because in the Bible alone I find God draw- 
ing near to man in Christ Jesus, and declaring to us in Him His 
will for our salvation" 

2. This test of Scripture becomes clearer when we recall the use 
which Christ and the New Testament writers made of the Old 
Testament Scriptures. Out of them Jesus learned His mission 
(Luke iv. 18-20, Matt. ix. 13). It was the prophecy and prospectus 
of His work; it was the law to which His life, His death and His 
resurrection were conformed. "Beginning at Moses and all the 
prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things 
concerning Himself" (Luke xxiv. 27). "These are the words 
which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things 
must be fulfilled which were in the law of Moses, and in the 
prophets, and in the Psalms concerning me" (Luke xxiv. 44). 
"Thus it is written and thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise 
from the dead the third day" (Luke xxiv. 46). Christ's example 
was followed by the apostles and other writers of the New Testa- 
ment. They treat the Old Testament Scriptures as not only his- 
torically and prophetically true, but as fulfilled in Jesus. The dis- 
tinctive use of the Old Testament in the Gospels, the Acts and the 
Epistles, is that the whole life of Christ is viewed in fulfillment of 
prophecy: e. g., Jesus is born of a virgin in Bethlehem, and as an 
infant returns from Egypt to Nazareth. His public ministry is 
heralded by John the Baptist. He begins His work in Galilee by 
claiming the endowment of the Holy Spirit, and in Judea by show- 
ing His seal for God's house. In His acts of healing He takes upon 
Himself the burden of men's infirmities. As befits the servant of 
the Lord He is humble, silent, patient. He is compelled by the 
stupidity of the people to speak in parables. He enters Jerusalem 
in lowliness, seated on an ass. He is greeted as coming in the 
name of the Lord. His message is not believed; He is rejected by 
the leaders of the people; He is betrayed for money; He is for- 
saken by His followers; He is reckoned among transgressors and 
hated without cause. His garments are divided; His bones are 
not broken, though His side if pierced; He is not suffered to be 
holden of death; He is exalted to God's right hand. 

3. The books of the New Testament, which are the record of the 
eye-witnesses of the ministry of Jesus Christ, and the words of His ac- 



24 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

credited ambassadors, were similarly received by the early Church. 

They took their place in the Canon as the very word of Christ. The 
churches read the apostolic writings because in them they heard the 
voice of their Master, their supreme authority, speaking through the 
writer. We now accept the Canonical Scriptures because the Chris- 
tian Church has accepted them as the word of God; but the decis- 
ive factor is not the Church's authority but the Church's consensus. 
It is the divine quality of the books and not the authority of the 
Church which gives the Bible its authority. 



QUESTIONS 

i. What is the meaning of the Canon of Scripture? 

2. What Bible did Jesus have? 

3. How did the books of the New Testament come to be written? 

4. When was the Canon finally settled? 

5. How did the Scriptures come to be recognized as one book? 

6. In what does the unity of the book consist? 

7. What was Luther's test of the Canon? 

8. Why do Roman Catholics accept the Scriptures ? 

9. Why do Protestants accept the Scriptures? 



LESSON IV 

Inspiration : Method 

i. inspiration 

I. When the question is asked, How are these books the word of 
God? the answer is, "Because they were inspired by the Holy Spirit." 
Inspiration is the human qualification by the divine Spirit for the 
work of making Scripture. The term comes from the Vulgate trans- 
lation of 2 Tim. iii. 16, Omnis scriptura divinitus inspirata, "Every 
Scripture inspired of God." The Greek word, OeoTrvevorla, means 
"God-breathed." "Inspired," therefore, means simply "inbreathed, 
by God," which may be applied to any degree of divine influence. 
In 2 Peter i. 21, the inspiration of "holy men of old" is described as 
being "moved" or "borne along" by the Holy Spirit, which seems 
a stronger expression than "inbreathed." But neither will help us 
further than this, that inspiration means divine influence. Just what 
this influence is we can only know from what it does. It would 
seem, from an examination of the Scriptures, that it might some- 
times be a very ordinary matter, merely helping a man to tell more 
accurately and reverently than he might otherwise have done some 
matter he had learned by his own observation. It might sometimes, 
too, be a power full of marvel and mystery, enabling men to appre- 
hend "the secret things which belong unto God." It helped one 
man to be a historian, another to be an editor of old documents, 
another to be an architect and designer, another to sing soul-stirring 
hymns. It touched a prophet's lips with fire to rouse a nation from 
its sins; it directed an apostle to write letters of wise counsel for 
the Church. Applied to the whole Bible, it is the special influence 
of God which so guided all who took part in producing it that they 
made it the book God designed it to be, unique in its religious value, 
authoritative and final in its religious teaching. 

2. The reader of Scripture needs scarcely to be reminded that the 
writers themselves claimed such inspiration. From the Old 
Testament prophet, whose almost invariable announcement is : "The 
word of the Lord came unto ," to St. Paul whose confident as- 



26 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

^rtion was "Neither did I receive it [my gospel] from man nor 
waT taught it but it came to me through revelation of Jesus 
Christ," the claim of the writers who disclose the. identity is 
w' m rcf Ex xx i 2 Sam. xxiii. 2, Isa. i. 2, Jer. i. 4, Ezek. i. 3, 
t™ S-s i. i, Rev. i. i). They themselves do not 
explain their inspiration, and probably could not Could ^Shake- 
speare have explained how he was intellectually endowed with great 
Noughts, or how he was inspired to express his great thoughts in 
immortal words? We cannot tell how the human spirit can operate 
through the body. We cannot explain how the Holy Spirit quickens 
religious life in man. "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou 
hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and 
whither it goeth; so is everyone that is born of the Spirit _ 

* We recognize that these writers who claim to speak m the 
name of the Lord" and to be "filled with His Spirit" present a reve- 
lation of whose religious goodness and profitableness there can 
be no question. The conception of God they present is unique; the 
predictions they make are unique; the fulfillment of these predictions 
is unique; the Person they disclose in Jesus Christ is unique; the 
signs by which they attest their message and by which He attests 
His message are unique. In whatever way we look at it the book is 
unique. It is the book of God in a sense in which no other book is 
—the depositorv of His thoughts and purposes, a book of life and 
salvation. Coming forth from the little land of Palestine it has 
taken hold of the world as no other book has. It has transformed 
pagan nations, making them humane and virtuous. It has created 
our noblest institutions and inspired our noblest laws. "If the Bible 
is not a divine book in a sense which is true of no other book, then 
it is the greatest paradox in its effects that the world has seen. It 
deceives our highest spiritual sense and yet produces our noblest 
spiritual character."— (Allon.) 

II. METHOD 

I If we cannot understand the inspiration of the Bible, we can, 
and do, understand its method. The making of the Bible was not 
like the building of a house; it was rather like the growth of a tree. 
God could have given us a book let down from heaven, as the Mor- 
mons foolishly say the book of Mormon was ; but that would have 
been to give us a book of rules, a code, but not a Bible. God s 
method was that of a progressive revelation and a progressive 
record of it. God did not reveal Himself all at once at the outset 



INSPIRATION: METHOD 27 

of human history. If He had disclosed Himself then in all the 
fullness of the Bible revelation, man would have been confused and 
overwhelmed. God adapted Himself to the capacity of man in His 
disclosures of Himself. The difference between the economy of 
Moses and the economy of Pentecost is the difference between the 
kindergarten and the university. 

2. God reveals Himself first to individuals, then to a nation. He 
reveals Himself first in an almost human form, talking to man as 
another man might talk (Gen. iii. 8). He appeared to the patriarchs 
in the form of an angel (Gen. xvi. 7, Gen. xviii. I ff., Gen. xix. I ff., 
Gen. xxxii. 24 ff., Num. xxii. 23) — a form of appearance that con- 
tinued throughout revelation. He appeared to Moses in the burning 
bush (Ex. iii. iff.). He manifested Himself to the prophets in the 
spiritual intuitions of their own minds. Then He manifested Him- 
self in Jesus Christ, disclosing "the deepest and most transcendent 
spiritual truths, realities and mysteries of redemption" (Heb. i. 1-3). 
Finally, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, in order that He might 
take the things of Christ and show them to men, revelation became 
"an abiding presentation of spiritual truth" for human redemption 
(John xiv. 26). 

3. The preparatory revelation of God was particularly disclosed in 
the history of Israel. It was necessary to prepare for the Messiah 
a people to be God's witness among the nations. The Hebrew peo- 
ple had an aptitude for religion, a genius for apprehending deity, 
and a passion for righteousness. God called Israel out of Egypt, 
disciplined them by a forty years' wandering in the wilderness of 
Sinai, and, first through ceremonial ordinances, and then through 
their history and its interpretation by prophets, revealed the nature 
and principles of His kingdom. Israel was little more than a 
medium through which God revealed Himself, and when, through 
its rebellion, it ceased to be that, it ceased to be a nation. 

4. God's mode of revealing Himself is seen also in the names by 
which He is known throughout the Bible. As Dr. Oehler says, 
"God names Himself, not according to what He is for Himself, but 
to what He is for man;" each new measure of disclosure being 
marked by a new name. Unfortunately, our English Bible does not 
show this as clearly as the original languages. His first name, 
"God" (Gen. i. 1, Heb., El, plural Elohim) is used for the creative 
days of the divine manifestation. God is the mighty maker of 
heaven and earth, who wields the forces of nature for His own 
ends. To the patriarchs He is "God Almighty" (Gen. xvii. 1, Heb. 



28 



LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 



El-Shaddai). From the Exodus He is "the Lord" (the unfortunate 
substitution in the Authorized Version for Jehovah, Heb. Yahweh, 
because of the Hebrew superstition as to pronouncing the- divine 
name), "the living one," the God of deeds, who showed what He 
was rather by His mighty deliverances than by words of revelation; 
henceforth the God of human history as well as the God of nature. 
Then in the New Testament, when the only-begotten Son has re- 
vealed God in His fullness, He is "Our Father" (Matt. vi. 9). 

5. The New Testament Scriptures are the record of God's full 
and final disclosure of Himself for human redemption in the life 
and work of Jesus Christ (Heb. i. 1-3). The message of Jesus 
Christ to the world, the word which He received from His Father, 
has been preserved by the pens of His own disciples ; the first and 
fourth Gospels were composed by apostles and eye-witnesses, the 
other two by direction of apostles, while the deep things of the 
gospel are interpreted in the epistles by the personalities they so 
powerfully molded. For, "to know Christ fully, we must not only 
know what He said and did Himself, but also what He made of 
the men who fully surrendered themselves to His grace and truth. 
He uses the mind of John and the soul of Paul and the practical 
wisdom of James to bring to light the hidden treasures that were 
in Himself. It has been well said that revelation would not be 
complete without some such soul experience as that of the apostle 
Paul's. "Bevond all doubt, without St. Paul's interpretation of the 
relation of Christ to sin, law, death, grace and life, the revelation 
of God in Christ would not have been complete." These are, doubt- 
less, some of the truths which Christ could not fully disclose to His 
disciples, because they could not bear them, but into which the 
Spirit of truth led them. 



QUESTIONS 

1. How are these books of Scripture the word of God? 

2. What is inspiration? 

3. Did the writers themselves claim inspiration? 

4. How does the Bible testify in its own behalf? 

5. What is God's method of revelation as shown in the Bible? 

6. How did He first reveal Himself? 



INSPIRATION: METHOD 29 

7. What was the next stage of His revelation? 

8. What is the significance of the names by which He is known? 

9. What is God's method of revelation in the New Testament? 
10. What is the value of Paul's experience? 



LESSON V 
The Pentateuch : Genesis 

(Gen. i.-xi.) 

i. Name. The first five books of the Bible are called the Penta- 
teuch, the five-volumed book. Its common Hebrew designation is 
"the Law" (Josh. i. 7), or more fully "the book of the law" (Josh, 
viii. 34), "the book of the law of Moses" (Josh. viii. 31), "the book 
of the law of God" (Josh. xxiv. 26), "the book of the law of Jeho- 
vah" (2 Chron. xvii. 9), "the law of Moses" (1 Kings ii. 3). 
Though Law, from its Hebrew root, means instruction, in the 
passages quoted, and in similar passages, the word is used in 
the restricted sense of law. The entire Pentateuch is called 
"the law" because legislation forms so large an element in it. 
In post-biblical times the Jews called it "the five-fifths of the 
law" or simply "the fifths" In the New Testament it is called 
"the book of the law" (Gal. iii. 10), "the book of Moses" (Mark 
xii. 26), "the law of Jehovah" (Luke ii. 23), "the law of Moses" 
(Luke ii. 22), and "the law" (Matt. xii. 5). Many scholars now 
add the book of Joshua to the Pentateuch and call the whole 
the Hexateuch. Others add Judges, Samuel and Kings, making a 
Heptateuch or an Octateuch. However, the name Pentateuch will 
not soon be displaced. 

2. Author. Though the Pentateuch does not clearly state that it 
was all the work of Moses, Moses is explicitly said to have written 
many things contained in these books (cf. Ex. xvii. 14; xxiv. 4, 7; 
xxxiv. 27; Num. xxxiii. 1, 2; Deut. xxxi. 9-11, 22, 24-26; Josh. i. 7, 
8; viii. 31, 34; xxiii. 6; xxiv. 26). The later books of the Old Tes- 
tament uniformly speak of the book of Moses (Josh. viii. 30-35, 
Judges iii. 4, 2 Chron. xxxiv. 14, Ezra iii. 2, etc.). Jesus quotes pas- 
sages of the Pentateuch as from Moses (Matt. viii. 4, Luke v. 14, 
Mark x. 5). The testimony of the New Testament writers is 
unanimous for the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch (Acts iii. 
22, Rom. x. 5, 19, 1 Cor. ix. 9, etc.). 

3. The chief historical book of the Pentateuch is Genesis, the first 
book in the Bible. Genesis is a Greek name, signifying origin or 

(30) 



THE PENTATEUCH: GENESIS 



31 



genealogy. It is the book of beginnings, and in it we find the be- 
ginnings of the world, of life, of man, of sin, of salvation, of the 
chosen people. Its contents fall naturally into two great divisions : 
(i) primeval history (chapters i. to xi.), and (2) patriarchal history 
(xii. to the end). 

4. Primeval history, (a) Creation. "In the beginning God 
created" may be taken as the prologue of the chronicle of begin- 
nings. The beginning of the universe is first stated (Gen. i. 1). 
Then, in order, we have the successive acts of creation, making up 
the six days of God's creative work. 



I. 

Separation of Light from 
Darkness. 

Vs. 2-5. 



2. 

Creation of the Firmament. 

Vs. 6-8. 



Separation of Land from 

Water. 

Vs. 9-13. 



4- 
Lights in the Heaven, Sun, 

Moon and Stars. 

Vs. 14-19. 



5 ; 

Animal Life in Water and 

Air. 

Vs. 20-23. 

6. 

Higher Animals on the Land. 

Creation of Man. 

Vs. 24, 25. 



After Delitzsch. 

Then follows the more explicit story of the creation of man (i. 26- 
28) and the institution of the Sabbath (ii. 1-3). A second account 
of creation follows in ii. 4-7, the preparation of the garden (ii. 8- 
17), the creation of woman (ii. 18-23). 

(b) Man's sin and its consequences. Chapter iii. gives us the 
beginning of temptation (1-5), the first sin (6), the effects of sin 
(7, 8), the curse (14-19), and the protevangel (15). In the work- 
ing out of this promise, to be finally realized in Christ, two lines of 
men arise. One follows Cain, the murderer, through Lamech and 
his descendants; the other, Abel, through Seth, men of faith (iv. 
16 to v.). 



32 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

It is worthy of note that the creation story and the story of 
Edenic happiness and its loss through yielding to external tempta- 
tion have been found among the Babylonians and other oriental 
peoples, but only the Genesis narrative is monotheistic and spiritual 
in its lessons. 

(c) Other Beginnings. We have in Genesis also the beginning of 
the family (i. 27, 28, iv. 1), the beginning of worship (iv. 3, 4, 26), 
of city life (iv. 17), of polygamy (iv. 19), of nomads (iv. 20), of 
musicians (iv. 21), of metal workers (iv. 22), of vine culture (ix. 
20), of drunkenness (ix. 21). 

(d) The Flood. The corruption which had become so great in 
the line of Cain became all but universal when the two races, that of 
Cain and that of Seth, began to intermarry (vi.). The moral dark- 
ness of the Cainites now overspread the entire horizon. The 
wickedness of men was very great on the earth. The course of the 
human race to this point may be represented thus : 



Tb£^^- 



Adam 




c 



rrme 



Ine Flood 

After Peloubet. 



All the human family but Noah and his family perished in the 
flood, which was God's first universal judgment (vii., viii.). Flood 
stories are common in oriental literature, but only that of Genesis 
points out the way of salvation. 

(e) Babel. The world is repopulated through the family of Noah. 
From his sons the great divisions of men and nations descend, 
Japheth being the traditional father of the Aryan race; Ham, of 
the Turanian, and Shem of the Semitic (ix., x.). The genealogical 
table, which seems to be geographical, shows the place of Israel in 
the family of the nations. The writer's goal is the history of the 
chosen family. He is chiefly concerned with the generations of 
Shem. In chapter xi. the genealogy carries us down through ten 
generations from Shem to Abraham, and is repeated exactly in 1 
Chron. i. 24-27 and in Luke iii. 34-36, with a slight interpolation. The 
story of the tower of Babel explains how the human family was 
scattered and how diversity of language arose (xi.). This is the 
third great beginning chronicled in Genesis. 



THE PENTATEUCH : GENESIS 33 

QUESTIONS 

1. What is the Pentateuch? Who wrote it? 

2. What does "Genesis" mean? 

3. What beginnings do we find in Genesis ? 

4. What is the order of the creative week? 

5. What was the beginning of sin? 

6. What is the protevangelf 

7. What was the first universal judgment? 

8. What was the beginning of the diversity of language? 

9. What is the significance of the genealogical table of Genesis? 

3 



LESSON VI 
Patriarchal History 

(Gen. xii.-l.) 

Places: Mesopotamia, Canaan, Egypt. 

A new chapter in Bible history begins at Genesis xii. I. Hebrew- 
tradition told how the ancestors of the nation had, under the divine 
guidance, migrated from the distant East into Canaan; had so- 
journed in different parts of the land; had entered into various rela- 
tions, friendly and unfriendly, with the native inhabitants, and had, 
in the end, in the person of Jacob and his twelve sons, gone down 
into Egypt. Gen. xii.-l. is the historical record of it. But it is 
more. It is a record of the relation which existed between the 
Patriarchs and God. Jehovah draws near to them in love, chooses 
them for His service, blesses them with His favor, enriches them 
with His promises, binds them with His behests. They are taken 
into covenant with God, justified by faith, disciplined by trial, per- 
fected through suffering. The book records the failures as well as 
the victories of these men of God, for its purpose is not hero-wor- 
ship, but religious instruction. 

i. Patriarchal history begins with Abraham. Since Noah the 
line of Shem had been that in which the knowledge of the true God 
had been perpetuated, and now, in the person of Abraham, this 
knowledge was to become the covenant possession of a chosen peo- 
ple. Abraham was the recipient of this divine preferment. Re- 
sponding in faith to the call he left his home in "Ur of the Chal- 
dees," far down in Mesopotamia, and set out for the new land of 
promise (xii. iff.). At Haran, 500 or 600 miles from Ur, he 
tarried till the death of his father, Terah. He entered the 
land from the north and built altars to the Lord at Shechem 
and Bethel. At Shechem God gave him a special promise that 
he and his seed should inherit the land (xii. 7, cf. xiii. 15, 17; 
xv. 18; xxvi. 3; xxviii. 13). Famine drove him into Egypt, 
where he was guilty of a lapse of faith. On his return from 
Egypt at Bethel he was separated from Lot, his nephew, yielding 

(34) 



PATRIARCHAL HISTORY 35 

first choice of the land to him (xiii.), and when Lot had been carried 
off by the four confederate kings (xiv. i)* Abraham appeared in 
the character of a man of arms, defeating those powerful allies 
with a handful of followers (xiv. 13-16). After this experience, 
which includes the meeting with Melchizedek, God appeared to 
Abraham in a new vision (xv.), giving him the promise, "I am thy 
shield and thy exceeding great reward." 

2. Hitherto Abraham had been the recipient of promises and 
blessings, and it seemed as if he must soon receive the promised 
seed. But now various delays, hindrances and disappointments 
intervene, in overcoming which evidence is given both of the 
strength of his faith and of the Providence watching over him. 
The chief of these delays was the substitution of Ishmael for the true 
heir (xvi.). The chapter tells how the impatience of three people 
conspired to thwart the divine plan — Hagar, beset by her jealous 
mistress; Sarah, despairing of the fulfillment of Jehovah's prom- 
ise, and Abraham, losing faith in a difficult situation. Ishmael, the 
Arab, could not take his place in the line of Israel's spiritual pa- 
triarchs. Thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael God appeared 
to Abraham renewing His assurance that he and his seed would 
inherit the land of Canaan, and establishing a covenant with him 
for all time that He would be his God and the God of his de- 
scendants (xvii. 1-8). Circumcision was instituted as the sign of 
the covenant,! and Abram's name was changed (xvii. 9-14). 

3. The supreme test of Abraham's faith was when he received 
the command to offer his son Isaac to God in sacrifice. The custom 

* We have here one of the few clues to chronology from external sources. 
AmrapheJ has been generally identified as the great Hammurabi, the sixth king 
of the first dynasty of Babylon, whose date, from contemporary records, has 
been located as early as 2100 b. c. (cf. "Light on the Old Testament from 
Babel," Clay, page 130"). Driver places his date at 2250 B. c. ("The Book of 
Genesis," Westminster Commentaries). That would make the exodus about 
1600 B. c). But this could not be reconciled with Ussher's date for Solomon 
(1014-975 B. C). It is impossible to hold to Ussher's chronology and the 
identity of Amraphel and Hammurabi. Many scholars, however, doubt this 
identity. On the other hand, inscriptions of Arioch also have been found. 
These facts are mentioned to show the teacher how impossible it is to be dog- 
matic about Bible dates. The chronology of the Bible is not a matter of divine 
revelation. Abraham's date is now usually placed about 2000 b. c. 

f Circumcision did not originate with the Hebrews, it being extensively prac- 
ticed in different parts of the ancient world, particularly in Egypt. Its signifi- 
cance in Israel is twofold: (1) It was performed in infancy; (2) it was made a 
religious rite. 



36 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

of human sacrifice was widespread in the ancient world. Excava- 
tions at Gezer show that human sacrifice, particularly of children, 
was practiced in Canaan. It was natural for Abraham, therefore, to 
recognize the command to sacrifice Isaac as from the Lord. Dr. 
Schauftler is probably right when he infers that God's purpose was 
to teach Abraham two things by this command: "First, that all 
human sacrifices were abhorrent to God ; and second, that his obedi- 
ence must be unquestioning. God never intended that Isaac should 
be sacrificed. This is apparent from the whole narrative. His com- 
mand was a 'test' of the patriarch, a test which Abraham met 
grandly." 

4. Abraham provided a wife for his son Isaac from his own peo- 
ple— Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel— and, having finished his pil- 
grimage, at the age of one hundred and seventy-five, he was gath- 
ered to his fathers. His sons, Ishmael and Isaac, buried him beside 
Sarah in the cave of Machpelah. Here also were buried Isaac and 
Rebekah, Jacob and Leah (xxv. 9; xlix. 30; 1. 13). The most re- 
markable thing in his history was the promise given him respecting 
the Messiah (xii. 3 and xxii. 18), and the most remarkable thing 
in his character was his faith (xv. 6 and Heb. xi. 8, 17). Our Lord 
expressed all by saying, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see 
my day; he saw it, and was glad" (John viii. 56). 



QUESTIONS 

1. What countries are included in the patriarchal history? 

2. With whom does this history begin? 

3. Where was Abraham born? 

4. How did he enter Canaan? 

5. What promise did Jehovah give him? 

6. What delayed the fulfillment of the promise? 
7- In whom was the promise fulfilled? 

8. What sign of the covenant was instituted? 

9. What was the supreme trial of Abraham's faith? 

10. What did God design to teach Abraham by this trial? 

11. Where is Abraham buried? 

12. What is the keynote of Abraham's character? 



LESSON VII 

Patriarchal History. — Continued 

(Gen. xxv. -1.) 
Place: Canaan. 
^ I. The second half of the patriarchal story contains "the genera- 
tions" of Ishmael (xxv. 12), of Isaac (xxv. 18), of Esau (xxxvi. 1, 
9), and of Jacob (xxxvii. 2). These generations were the family 
histories. The sons of Ishmael and of Esau, the Arabs and the 
Edomites, did little to further the providential purpose of God, the 
education and salvation of the human race. The line of promise is 
through Isaac and his son Jacob. 

2. The events of Isaac's life are far less interesting than those 
of Abraham's or Jacob's. There is the same strife about the wells 
with Abimelech, king of Gerar, that his father had ; the wander- 
ings in search of pasture, or under pressure of famine; the usual 
cunning or dissimulation to avoid danger. But no great events 
happen in his lifetime. He exemplifies the domestic virtues and is 
the hero of conjugal fidelity. Of all the patriarchs he alone stood 
aloof from polygamy, so that the liturgy of the Christian Church 
enshrines him in her prayers as the ideal of a faithful husband. 

3. The story of Jacob is one of the romances of the Old Testa- 
ment. Esau and Jacob, the children of prayer, were contrasts from 
the first. That the wary, home-loving Jacob— the epitome of the 
traits of his race— should secure from his careless and more roving 
brother the coveted birthright, is not a surprise (xxvii.). But the 
ill-gotten gain proved no blessing in fact. He became a fugitive 
from his native land and never again saw his mother's face. But 
his flight made an epoch in his life. It brought him to Bethel and 
the heavenly vision (xxviii.). But he must endure the discipline of 
Haran, the land of his ancestors (xxix.). Here he struggled with 
his uncle, Laban, served for his wives, Leah and Rachel, and after 
twenty years of unrequited service stealthily departed with his 
gains (xxxi.). As yet, however, his character was unchanged. 
Not until after he had wrestled with the angel of Jehovah and 
yielded to the divine Spirit did he become Israel, a prince with 

(37) 



38 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

God (xxvii. 25-27). After his reconciliation with Esau he returned 
to Canaan, settling at Shechem, the shrine of Abraham, which he 
purchased from the children of Hamor (xxxiii.). Thence, to pre- 
vent intermarriage with the Canaanites on the part of his children, 
he passed, first to Bethel, where the foreign gods were banished 
from his household, and Jehovah again appeared to him (xxxiv.). 
Then he pressed still further south. Near Bethlehem (Ephrath) 
Rachel died in childbirth when Benjamin was born (xxxv.). 
Through his wives, Leah and Rachel, and their handmaids, Bilhah 
and Zilpah, the twelve tribes of Israel are reckoned to have de- 
scended (xxxv. 23-27) : 

1. Reuben 7. Gad 

2. Simeon 8. Asher 

3. Levi 9. Issachar 

4. Judah 10. Zebulun 

5. Dan 11. Joseph 

6. Naphtali 12. Benjamin 

6. The stream of sacred history now follows the life of Joseph. 
A remarkable combination of gifts and graces met in his character. 
Unusually beloved by his father, he became the object of envy to his 
brethren because of his father's preferment and his own high 
dreams of power (xxxvii. 6). He was sold away from his father 
by his brethren as a slave (xxxvii. 26). The slave boy received 
high place (xxxix.). Temptation sought him, but he conquered, 
only to be imprisoned by lying, lustful hate (xxxix.). In prison 
God raised up friends for him. Dreams, which he interpreted, at 
last led him to the Pharaoh's presence (xl.). There he interpreted 
the Pharaoh's dreams so clearly and advised so prudently that he 
was elevated to a high and responsible position (xli.). One day, 
after many years, he suddenly saw his brethren, forced by necessity, 
standing before him; but he used his advantage, not to crush them 
or take vengeance upon them, but to test them, to discover whether 
they were loyal to his father and his younger brother, and when he 
was satisfied on this point, he saved them, and, in loving affection, 
sent for his father (xlii. to xlv.). To Egypt Jacob came, and there 
he dwelt (xlvi., xlvii.) ; there also he died, with many prophetic 
blessings for his sons (xlviii., xlix.), seeing the hope to come (the 
Prince of Peace) in Judah (xlix. 10). In Egypt Israel prospered 
so long as Joseph lived (xlix., 1.). 



PATRIARCHAL HISTORY— CONTINUED 39 

QUESTIONS 

i. With what is the second half of the book of Genesis occupied? 

2. Through whom do we now trace the line of promise? 

3. What is the main characteristic of Isaac's life? 

4. What contrast is presented by Jacob and Esau? 

5. Trace the career of Jacob. 

6. How did Jacob become a prince with God? 

7. Name the twelve sons of Jacob. 

8. Tell the story of Joseph. 



LESSON VIII 
The Exodus and Sinai 

(Books: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) 

Places: Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula, the land of Moab. 

1. Israel in Egypt. In the four hundred and thirty years of their 
sojourn in Egypt (Ex. xii. 40, Gal. iii. 17) Israel increased enor- 
mously in numbers, but Joseph's services were forgotten, and the 
foreign shepherds were an abomination. The Pharaoh* alarmed at 
the growth of the Hebrews, and, perhaps, fearing that they might 
ally themselves with some foreign invader, resolved to cripple and 
crush them by oppression (Ex. i. 11 ff.). Unable to accomplish his 
end by oppression, he endeavored, at first secretly and afterwards 
openly, to destroy their male children. They were to be cast into 
the Nile. 

2. Moses. The evasion of this order on the part of a Levite and 
his wife led to the discovery by the Pharaoh's daughter of him who 
was to be the future deliverer of Israel. Moses, the son of Amram 
and Jochebed, is by far the greatest man in Old Testament history. 
The existence and character of the Hebrew nation require such a 

* Scholars generally believe that the Pharaoh of the oppression was Rameses 
II., of the nineteenth dynasty, who reigned sixty-seven years, and is known 
from Egyptian monuments to have erected extensive works, such as are men- 
tioned in Ex. i. 11. Rameses II. had more than one hundred children, the 
thirteenth or fourteenth of whom succeeded him, in the person of Merenpthah, 
who may have been the Pharaoh of the Exodus, which, in that case must be 
placed at about 12 13 b. c. This date, however, does not allow for the 480 
years of 1 Kings vi. 1 between the Exodus and the building of the temple (1015 
b. c.), and, on the other hand, leaves too much time between the dates of 
Abraham and the Exodus. The 480 years would bring us back to the reign 
of Thothmes III. "What is known of that monarch and his time agrees with 
the Bible record. The picture of brick-making by captives, bearing the in- 
scription, 'Be not idle,' is from his reign. . . . According to this theory the 
Khabiri of the Tel-el-Amarna letters may have been the hosts of Israel who 
were threatening to overthrow the king of Jerusalem." These facts are too 
meager to decide between these two theories, but they corroborate the Bible 
account. The tendency now is toward the earlier dates. 

(40) 



THE EXODUS AND SINAI 41 

person as Moses to account for them. His life falls into three 
natural divisions of forty years each: (i) at the Pharaoh's court- 
(2) as a shepherd in the desert; (3) in the wilderness as the leader 
of Israel. His services to his people will be best understood by 
following his work (1) as Leader and (2) as Lawgiver and Prophet. 

I. MOSES, THE LEADER 

1. For his work as leader Moses was trained in two schools; 

first, in the Pharaoh's household (Ex. ii. 5 ff.), where he became 
learned m all the wisdom of the Egyptians and mighty in words 
and deeds" (Acts vii. 22). His life at the Egyptian court came to a 
sudden end through his patriotic effort to deliver one of his coun- 
trymen from the cruelty of an Egyptian. His choice of his people 
and his renunciation of Egyptian favor and preferment were the 
triumphs of faith (Heb. xi. 24-26). His forty years' experience in 
the desert brought him near to nature's heart, and prepared him to 
receive the divine call which came in the form of a new name of 
God, the giving of which marks an epoch in the history of Israel 
and of mankind (Ex. iii. 14). 

2. Moses' actual leadership began with his contest with the 
Pharaoh when he presented God's word that he should let His peo- 
ple go (Ex. v. 1 ff.). The plagues followed as a result of the 
Pharaoh's obstinacy (vii. to x.). By nine powerful miracles Mose* 
showed the power of his God, in vindication of his appeal Still 
the Pharaoh hardened his heart, until God finally hardened him in 
judgment, and the slaying of the first-born of the Egyptians and 
the institution of the Passover of the Jews (xx. 1-36), which is 
still observed by them, but which has its true fulfillment in Christ 
(1 Cor. v. 7), followed. 

3. Six hundred thousand men,* without counting women and chil- 
dren, were marshaled and marched from Rameses to Succoth thence 
to Etham on the edge of the wilderness, and thence to Pi-ha-hiroth 
near the shore of the Red Sea. Their guide was the miraculous 
pillar of cloud and fire. Pursued by the Egyptians, they were mirac- 
ulously delivered by a strong east wind, which drove back the 

* This large number of fighting men has proved a stumbling-block to many 
Bible students. It would involve a total population of 3,000,000 souls. It is 
possible that the original word for "thousand," which is the same root as the 
word for family," is to be taken in the latter sense in the numberings of the 
people in Num. 1. and xxvi. This would greatly reduce the number of 
armed men. 



42 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

waters of the sea and laid bare a passage for their crossing The 
Egyptian host, attempting to follow them, was drowned. < In the 
third month afterward the children of Israel reached Sinai, under 
the shadow of whose crags they spent a year, and there a new epoch 
in their history began. 

II. MOSES AS LAWGIVER AND PROPHET 

We now come to the kernel and core of Israel's life-the covenant 
by which all the tribes were united in allegiance to one God, and the 
laws-moral, social, ceremonial-upon which the covenant was 
based. Israel was a very small nation, and when they reached 
Canaan, they occupied, in their most prosperous days a very small 
territory. But they have left an indelible mark on the history of 
the world, because they contained a germ out of which grew the 
kingdom of God. And that germ was planted at Sinai. It con- 
sisted in the theocracy which God established "in the third month 
after the Exodus and in His election of Israel as the nation through 
which redemption was to be prepared and of which the Messiah was 
to come. In line with this purpose God gave to Moses the funda- 
mental law by which Israel was to be bound to Him. First and 
highest was the Moral Law, which we call the Ten Commandments, 
providing for holiness of life. These Commandments are found m 
Exodus xx. and in Deuteronomy v.* At Sinai were communicated 
also the Ceremonial and Judicial Laws which were to govern Israel 
in their new relation to God as His people. The Judicial Laws are 
comprised chiefly in the so-called Book of the Covenant (Ex. xx. 
18 to xxiv. 8) ; the Ceremonial Laws are to be found in various 
parts of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The laws 
of Israel as given by Moses have been classified under four heads, 
viz.: i. The Ten Words; 2. The Book of the Covenant; 3- Levitical 
Codes; 4. The Deuteronomic Code. 

QUESTIONS 

1. How long were the children of Israel in Egypt? 

2. What was their condition there? 

3. Who was raised up to deliver them? 

* The two versions differ chiefly in the reasons assigned for the keeping of 
the Sabbath, the former giving the religious reason and the latter the social. In 
the numbering of the Commandments our Church, with the Roman Catholic, 
follows the divisions of the Massoretic text. 



THE EXODUS AND SINAI 43 

4. What preparation did he have for his work? 

5. Describe his contest with the Pharaoh. 

6. When was the Passover instituted? 

7. What occurred at the Red Sea? at Sinai? 

8. How are the laws given by Moses classified? 

9. Where are the Ten Commandments recorded? 

10. Where are the Ceremonial and Judicial Laws of Israel re- 
corded? 



LESSON IX 

The Wilderness Wanderings 

(Books: Numbers and Deuteronomy) 

In consequence of the establishment of the covenant God designed 
to make His dwelling with His people. To this end the tabernacle 
was t0 be erect ed. But before this was carried out the people broke 

the covenant. 

i The First Breach of the Covenant. When Moses was called 
up into the mountain he left Aaron and the elders in the plain below 
to await his return. Moses' prolonged absence proved too severe a 
te^t for the ueople. They wished a visible symbol of deity, and. re- 
calling the impressive ritual of Egypt, they forced Aaron into the 
incident of the golden calf (Ex. xxxii.), a pure act of idolatry in 
direct violation of the law they had just received. Moses executed 
judgment upon the idolaters, and the tribe of Levi, by its zeal for 
Jehovah, obtained its consecration. Through Moses' intercession 
the people were pardoned and they received a new disclosure of the 
mercy of their God. who renewed His covenant (Ex. xxxiv.- 

XXXVI. ] . 

2. The Sojourn at Sinai. The children of Israel remained at 
Sinai a year (Num. x. Ii). During this time the tabernacle was 
set up and dedicated, and a number of laws were given designed 
more fully to separate the people from the practices of Egypt and 
of the tribes of Canaan to which they were going. (Here the Book 
of Leviticus, which is a handbook for priests, is to be studied, and 
the Book of Numbers as far as x. Ii). A numbering of the people 
was taken, and the order of the camp of Israel was established 
(Num. ii. and iii.). Here also occurred the disobedience of Xadab 
and Abihu, two of the sons of Aaron, who. disregarding the divine 
order, put ''strange fire" in their censers when they went to per- 
form the priests' office (Lev. x.). 

3. Kadesh-Barnea. In the second year the children of Israel, led 
by the pillar of cloud and of fire, removed from Sinai and pro- 
ceeded towards the promised land. Their journey lay through the 
wilderness, by a route we cannot now trace, until they came to 

(44) 



THE WILDERNESS WANDERINGS 45 

Kadesh-Barnea on the outskirts of the land of Edom. From this 
point the land of promise was surveyed by spies, but on their report 
the courage of the people failed and they openly resolved to return 
to Egypt (Num. xiv.). As a punishment they were doomed to 
wander for forty years in the desert, and, with the exception of 
Caleb and Joshua, the two faithful spies, all above twenty years of 
age who had come out of Egypt, perished without seeing the prom- 
ised land. 

4. The Wandering. The history of the Pentateuch does not give 
us a clear account of the next thirty-seven years. According to Deu- 
teronomy i. 46 the children of Israel abode in Kadesh many days. 
From this point the return march was by the stages given in Num. 
xxxiii. All attempts to identify these sites have proven equally un- 
satisfactory. In the first month of the fortieth year the children of 
Israel are again at Kadesh-Barnea. It is doubtless this encampment 
which is referred to in Num. xx. 1. As the Edomites refused Israel 
passage through their territory, Israel had to turn back a second 
time from the border of Canaan and go around the mountains of 
Edom in order to enter from the eastern side (Num. xx. 14 ff.). 
The great disappointment of the people caused them to lapse into 
their old rebellion, which brought upon them the plague of fiery 
serpents ; but the spirit of the new generation was much improved 
and they were soon brought to repentance (Num. xxi.). 

5. The Conquests. Having gone around by the Red Sea (Num. 
xxi. 14) the host of Israel now advanced along the eastern side of 
Mount Seir. They seem to have been allowed to advance quietly in 
this way around the eastern borders of both Edom and Moab and 
to have met with no interruption until they were confronted by 
Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, both of whom 
in turn they subdued. They now encamped in the plains of Moab 
opposite Jericho (Num. xxi. 35). The Moabites alone remained in 
their way. Balak, king of Moab, sought to conjure away the danger 
by means of Balaam, the seer of Mesopotamia, and arrest the 
progress of the people by means of his curse; but the Spirit of 
Jehovah compelled Balaam to bless Israel and announce their future 
glory (Num. xxiv.). But though Balaam could not destroy the 
children of Israel with a curse he was ingenious enough to show 
Balak that Israel could not resist the lures of Baal-peor. Israel's 
weakness, therefore, brought on the curse which Balaam was 
powerless to pronounce, and twenty-four thousand perished (Num. 
xxxi.). 



46 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

6 The Last Services of Moses. The last public services of 
Moses were the defeat of the Midianites, the settlement of the 
tribes of Reuben, Gad and a half tribe of Manasseh in the con- 
quered territory, and the establishment of the cities of refuge 
(xxxii-xxxv.). The new numbering of the people showed fewer 
fighting men than when Israel left Egypt (601,730 against 603,500, 

Num. xxvi.). m mmt . _ 1 

7 Deuteronomy. The wanderings of the children of Israel are 
now at an end, and Moses is to place the staff of leadership in Joshua s 
hands. The last message of the departing leader is given m Deuter- 
onomy. As the children were gathered in the plain of Moab, Moses 
delivered a series of orations which review the past with its experi- 
ences and lessons and again inculcate the law. "An essential pecu- 
liarity of the book is that it presents the subjective side of the law 
which had been brought forward in earlier books ; wherefore the 
tone of speech is here more that of paternal warning, which, by 
pointing to Jehovah's electing and long-suffering love, endeavors to 
awaken love to Him in return" (Deut. vii. 6-8, x. 15). 

QUESTIONS, 

1. What was the first breach of the covenant on the part of the 

children of Israel? 

2. How long were the children of Israel at Sinai? 

3. What was the purpose of this long sojourn? 

4. To what place did Israel come in the second year? 

5. What was the people's response to the report of the spies? 

6. When did Israel come to Kadesh-Barnea again? 

7. How did they finally proceed to the promised land? 

8. What conquests did they make east of the Jordan? 

9. What is the story of Balaam? 

10. What is the significance of Deuteronomy? 



LESSON X 
Joshua and the Settlement of the Land 

(Book: Joshua) 

Places: Moab, Gilead, Bashan, Canaan. 

The Historical Books is the general title given to the books of 
Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings. Chronicles came later, being not 
simply a supplement of the foregoing, but a series of annals with a 
form and purpose of its own. In the series from Genesis to Second 
Kings each book takes up the history where the preceding book 
drops it; so that in this group of books we have one continuous 
history from the Creation to the Babylonian Captivity. Chronicles, 
on the other hand, is complete in itself, and covers the whole history 
from Adam down to the Restoration from captivity, and even later. 
Four main periods in Israel's history are comprised in the his- 
torical books : 

(a) The invasion of Canaan under Joshua. 

(b) The struggle for the mastery under the Judges. 

(c) The rise of the monarchy under Samuel. 

(d) The history of the kingdoms until the extinction of the 
Kings. 

i. Joshua first commands our notice. The conquest of the prom- 
ised land (i. to xii.) and the division of the land (xiii. to xxii.) 
are the main contents of the book of Joshua. The death of Moses 
seemed an irreparable loss, but God had been training his successor. 
Under Joshua, Israel became a militant host, but their arms were 
not carnal. "No mention is made of sword, spear or bow, but only 
of obedience." The incidents are very thrilling in the first part of 
the book. In rapid succession we follow the events of the con- 
quest. By a miracle the Jordan was crossed by Israel on dry 
ground at a point near the city of Jericho, two spies being sent in 
advance to examine the land (ii.-iv.). Jericho was the key to the 
occupation of Canaan from the point of crossing, and it was de- 
stroyed by divine command (v., vi.). From the Jordan the natural 
gateway to the land was through the wady Suweinit, which leads 

(47) 



48 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

into the vale of Michmash. In this valley lay the city of Ai, 
which Joshua captured after the Israelites had first suffered^ a re- 
pulse on account of the sin of Achan (vii. I, viii. 1-29). This vic- 
tory seems to have given Joshua possession of central Palestine, 
for immediately we find him at Mount Ebal assembling the people 
for the reading of the Law of Moses (viii. 3°-35). A coalition 
of petty kings attempted to check the advance of the Hebrews, but 
the Canaanite forces were completely overwhelmed at Bethhoron (x.). 
A more powerful confederacy under Jabin, king of Hazor, in the 
north was similarly overthrown at Merom. Joshua did not conquer 
all the land (xii. 1), nor are all his campaigns recorded. The 
narrator is more particular to make it clear that the war is a holy 
war, for he tells of the miraculous crossing of the Jordan (in.), the 
observance of the Passover (v. 10, 11), the cause of the repulse at 
Ai (vii.), and relates the confirming of the Covenant at Ebal and 

Gerizim (viii. 3°-35)- 

2. The division of the land is told in detail (xiii. 15 to xxii.). 
Reuben, Gad and a half of the tribe of Manasseh were assigned 
territory east of the Jordan, Reuben occupying the land of Moab, 
Gad that of Gilead, and Manasseh that of Bashan. On the western 
side of the Jordan the first allotment of territory was made to the 
tribe of Judah. It included all the country south of Jerusalem from 
the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea, an area of about 2000 square 
miles. Out of this allotment a part was afterwards taken for 
Simeon, to the southwest. The portion of Benjamin lay immedi- 
ately to the north of Judah. The territory of Dan adjoined Ben- 
jamin on the west. The tribe of Joseph— usually designated as 
Ephraim and Manasseh (the other half tribe)— was given a large 
and exceptionally rich portion of territory north of the inheritance 
of Benjamin and Dan. To the tribe of Issachar was given nearly 
the whole plain of Esdraelon. To Zefoulon was assigned the terri- 
tory northwest of the allotment of Issachar, the inheritance of 
Asher and of Naphtali lying north of it. In the period of the 
Judges a large part of the tribe of Dan moved northward to the 
headwaters of the Jordan. 

3. Cities of Refuge. Moses had directed (Num. xxxv. 6-34) that 
six cities — three on the eastern side and three on the western side 
of the Jordan— of those given to the Levites should be cities of 
refuge, whither those who had unintentionally killed anyone might 
flee. Under Joshua these cities were now set apart : on the western 
side, Kedesh in Naphtali, Shechem in Ephraim, and Hebron in 



JOSHUA AND THE SETTLEMENT OF THE LAND 49 

Judah ; on the eastern side, Bezer in Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead, and 
Golan in Manasseh. 

4. Joshua's Farewell. When the land was finally settled and 
Israel had rest from all her enemies Joshua assembled the heads 
of all the tribes at Shechem and delivered to them his memorable 
farewell. It was an affectionate appeal that, in view of the divine 
guidance and deliverance of their fathers, and the many mercies 
which had attended their way from Egypt, they would fear Jeho- 
vah and serve only Him. The people vowed again and again that 
they would never forsake their God, but Joshua, knowing their 
fickleness, swore them to fidelity by a solemn covenant (xxiii., 
xxiv.). 

QUESTIONS 

1. What are the chief historical books? 

2. What are the main epochs covered in their history? 

3. In what order was the land of Canaan subjugated? 

4. Where did the several tribes settle? 

5. What were the cities of refuge? Name them. 

6. Give the argument of Joshua's farewell address. 

4 



LESSON XI 

The Period of the Judges 
(Book: Judges) 

The book of Judges takes its name from the men who were raised 

up to deliver Israel in the uncertain and more or less disorganized 
days of the period following Joshua. It covers a period of several 
centuries (cf. I K. vi. i). "They are called Judges, primarily be- 
cause they judged Israel in the sense of defending the national 
cause against enemies, and for the same reason they are called 
'saviours' (iii. 9, 15, R. V.)." During the lifetime of Joshua and 
Phinehas, who succeeded Eleazar as high priest, an attempt was 
made to carry on the government in accordance with the provisions 
of the law of Moses, but after the death of Phinehas the theocratic 
polity of Israel disappeared and the individual tribes seem to con- 
duct their own affairs. In this general confusion and disorganiza- 
tion the children of Israel were not in position to offer very strong 
resistance to invading foes, and they were further weakened by their 
sins. Political disorganization was the result of religious declen- 
sion. The general trend of history during the time of the Judges 
was this : Israel would sin, and then God would allow the foes over 
whom they had not yet prevailed, to rule over them. Then Israel 
would repent and call on the God of their fathers for deliverance. 
"Nevertheless the Lord raised up Judges, which delivered them 
out of the hand of those that spoiled them" (ii. 16). But the re- 
pentance was usually short-lived, and the death of the judge would 
be followed by the return of the people to idolatry (ii. 18). In times 
of peace the chief function of the judge was to administer justice, 
but in times of war he was the militant leader of the fighting men, 
whom he led to victory. 

2. The book is divided into three parts: (i) Introductory mate- 
rial (i.-iii. 5), designed to connect the book with Joshua; (2) the 
narratives of the judges (iii. 8 to xvi. 3) ; (3) two incidents of the 
times (xvii.-xxi.). Six of the exploits of the judges are given in 
detail, arising out of six invasions. 

(50) 



THE PERIOD OF THE JUDGES 51 

(i) Invasion from the northwest. The first chastisement of 
the children of Israel came from Mesopotamia, not many years 
after the death of Joshua. The people had been marrying into 
heathen families and combining the worship of heathen gods with 
the worship of Jehovah. A king of Mesopotamia, whose name was 
Cushan-rishathaim (which might be translated, "Cushan, the double- 
dyed villain"), invaded the land. For eight years he oppressed Israel, 
until Othniel, the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, was 
raised up and delivered Israel (iii. 7-11). 

(2) Invasion from the southeast. The land had rest for forty 
years, or during the life of Othniel. But after his death, God sent 
Eglon, the king of Moab, who captured Jericho and afflicted Israel 
for eighteen years. When Israel again repented, Ehud, the son of 
Gera, of the tribe of Benjamin, was raised up to be the deliverer. 
Obtaining a secret interview with the king, he stabbed him, then 
rallied the Israelites in Mount Ephraim, seized the fords of the Jor- 
dan and cut the Moabites to pieces. Then Israel had peace for 
eighty years (iii. 12-30). 

(3) Invasion from the north. When Israel again did evil in the 
sight of Jehovah, he raised up against them Jabin, king of Canaan, 
whose general was Sisera. With nine hundred chariots of iron this 
king mightily oppressed Israel for twenty years. Then God raised 
up Deborah, the prophetess of Mount Ephraim, who, together with 
Barak, of the tribe of Naphtali, freed the land from this scourge. 
In a memorable battle in the plain of Esdraelon, Sisera was put to 
flight by Barak's army and the land was delivered from the Canaan- 
ites. Again the land had rest for forty years (iv., v.). 

(4) Invasion from the east. In their next disobedience Jehovah 
gave Israel into the hands of the Midianites, a fierce desert tribe, 
whose raids were so feared that the children of Israel were driven 
into mountains and caves and strongholds. For seven successive 
seasons this oppression continued, and their enemies were in pos- 
session of the whole land (vi. 4) before the children of Israel were 
brought to repentance. At last a prophet by the name of Gideon, 
of the tribe of Manasseh, defied the Midianites, and by a very dar- 
ing stratagem put them to flight. The brilliant exploits of Gideon 
aroused the jealousy of the strong tribe of Ephraim, but Gideon 
was so generous in his praise that he was able to keep it down. 
After his death, Abimelech, his son, by a concubine of Ephraim, 
stirred up the Shechemites to acknowledge him as king, but his 



52 



LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 



hands were stained with the blood of his brethren and he came to 
a miserable end (vL-viii. 3 2 )- 

(5) Invasion from the east. After nearly a hah century of 
peace another terrible scourge overtook Israel, following one 01 
their worsi apostasies. The oppressors this time were the Am- 
monites. For eighteen years they oppressed the children of Israel 
east of the Jordan, and then they crossed the Jordan and oppressed 
Judah. Benjamin and Ephraim. The children of Israel in their dis- 
tress cried unto Jehovah, but at first He turned a deaf ear to them, 
bidding them turn to the gods they had chosen. A more genuine 
repentance brought relief at the hands of Jephthah, a Gileadite, 
who was victorious over the Ammonites in a notable battle near 
Aroer. He. too, encountered the jealousy of the Ephraimites, 
against whom he turned his arms and greatly decimated them. 
Jephthah judged Israel six years (xi.-xii. 7). 

(6) Invasion from the southwest. The severest afflictions which 
Israel suffered at the hands of any of their oppressors came from the 
Philistines, a warlike race of Greek origin, who had settled in the 
coast plain. Jehovah delivered the children of Israel into their 
hands for forty years. At last deliverance came by the hand of 
Samson, a hero of the little tribe of Dan, who from his birth was 
consecrated as a Nazirite unto Jehovah. Samson's exploits form 
the most romantic pages of the Old Testament. The downfall of 
Samson forms one of the most striking character-lessons in the 
Bible (xiii.-xv.). 

Besides these, six others are mentioned: Shamgar, who per- 
formed a daring feat against the Philistines (hi. 3. 4) ; Tola, 
a man of Issachar, who judged Israel twenty -three years (x. 
1. 2) ; Jair. the Gileadite, who judged Israel twenty-two years (x. 3, 
4) ; Ibzan. of Bethlehem, who judged Israel seven years (xii. 8-10) ; 
Elon, of Zebulun. who judged Israel ten years (xii. II, 12) ; Abdon, 
of Pirathon, who judged Israel eight years (xii. 13-15)- 

Eli, Samuel and Abimelech performed the function of judge and 
are sometimes placed in the list of judges, making a total number 
of fifteen. 

The book closes with two detached incidents, the story of Micah 
and his image worship, in connection with the settlement of Dan; 
and the outrage of the Gibeathites and their extermination (xvii. 

to xxi.). 

3. The book of Ruth is placed after Judges because it belongs to 
this time. The Hebrews class it with the third great division of 



THE PERIOD OF THE JUDGES 53 

their Bible, "the Writings." The chief purpose of the book seems 
to be the tracing of the genealogy of David to the Moabite maiden, 
Ruth. The contents are familiar. A man of Bethlehem, during a 
famine, goes with his wife and two sons to Moab. They all die but 
the mother, Naomi, who now determines to return to her native 
city. Her Moabite daughters-in-law would go with her, and Ruth, 
a pattern of filial piety, persists. At Bethlehem, Ruth attracts the 
attention of Boaz, a man of property, a relative of her husband's 
family, who ultimately makes her his wife, and by this union Ruth 
becomes the great-grandmother of David. 



QUESTIONS 

1. What were the Judges? 

2. Give the divisions of the book of the Judges. 

3. Name the chief Judges and give the occasion of their deliv- 
ance. 

4. Name the minor Judges. 

5. What other names are sometimes included in this list? 

6. What is the significance of the book of Ruth? Tell the story 
of the book. 



LESSON XII 
The Rise of the Monarchy 

Books: i and 2 Samuel) 

During the period of the Judges the government of the people 
was largely that of tribal leaders. Relatively it was like that of 
Germany before the empire ; there was no national unity. It is true 
that the high priest, Eli, retained his position, and the tabernacle at 
Shiloh formed a rallying point for the people. But Eli's sons 
proved unworthy to succeed him, and nothing was to be hoped for 
from the priesthood in a political emergency. It fell to the lot of 
Samuel to lead the people in the transition days from the Judges 
to the monarchy. 

1. The Work of Samuel occupies chapters i. to xii. of the first 
book that bears his name. The narrative opens with the beautiful 
story of Samuel's birth and childhood, his service in the taber- 
nacle at Shiloh, and the divine call that came to him there in the 
degenerate days of Eli's judgeship (i. to iii.). When he grew up 
he was recognized at Shiloh as a "prophet of the Lord" ; and, when 
Israel was chastened by the Philistines and the ark taken (iv.), Samuel 
led the people to repentance, and there was a revival of religion, 
followed by the successful battle of Ebenezer (v. to vii. 14). From 
this time forward Samuel's authority as judge was recognized 
throughout the land. With headquarters at Ramah, he made the 
circuit to Bethel, Gilgal and Mizpeh, administering the nation's 
affairs (vii. 15-17). In time, however, the Israelites became tired of 
the government of Judges; and ostensibly because Samuel's sons 
were worthless men, but really because they wished to be "like the 
nations around them," they asked Samuel for a king (viii. 1-5). 
Though it was in the plan of God that Israel should have a king, 
Israel's demand from the motive that prompted it, was really a 
rejection of God's rule (viii. 7). After warning them of the 
dangers they were inviting, Samuel reluctantly yielded to their 
importunity and anointed Saul, the son of Kish (ix. to xi.), after 
which he formally laid down his office (xii.). 

2. The Reign of Saul occupies the remainder of 1 Samuel, but 

(54) 



THE RISE OF THE MONARCHY 55 

throughout the narrative Samuel and David figure as prominently 
as Saul himself. Saul was a warrior of prowess and figured in 
seven military campaigns. 

(i) The campaign against the Ammonites at Jabesh-Gilead. The 
ancestral foes of Israel on the east were the Ammonites, from 
whom Jephthah had delivered Israel. Jabesh-Gilead, east of the 
Jordan, was now besieged by the Ammonites and its inhabitants 
threatened with the loss of their right eyes. Their appeal for help 
aroused the spirit of Saul, who up to that time had been a peace- 
ful husbandman. Mustering the people at Bezek, he organized an 
army and took swift vengeance upon the Ammonites for their 
cruelty (i Sam. xi.). 

(2) The campaign against the Philistines. For probably a half 
century the Philistines had dominated Palestine. They not only 
occupied the maritime plain, but they crossed the central ridge 
and established their garrisons at Beth-Shean in the north, in 
the pass of Michmash in Benjamin and at Bethlehem in the south. 
Michmash commanded the approach from the Jordan Valley. Here 
Jonathan and a single attendant, aided by an earthquake, completely 
routed the garrison, and the Philistines were smitten from Mich- 
mash to Aijalon (1 Sam. xiv.). 

(3) Of the third campaign, against Moab, Ammon, Edom and the 
kings of Zobah, no particulars are recorded (1 Sam. xiv. 47). 

(4) The campaign against the Amalekites, the ancient enemy of 
Israel from the days of the wandering, followed. Saul pursued 
them to the border of Egypt, but failed to fulfill the prophetic doom 
which rested upon them from the days of Moses, and then at- 
tempted to deceive Samuel. It was this disobedience which deter- 
mined Saul's unfitness to be king, and Samuel was directed to 
anoint David (1 Sam. xv., xvi.). 

(5) The campaign against the Philistines. It was Saul's policy, 
when he saw any mighty man or any valiant man, to ally him to 
himself. In this way David became one of Saul's men of war. 
All his life Saul had war with the Philistines (1 Sam. xv. 52). 
Among the warriors who distinguished himself in this fighting was 
David. Not only did he worst the champion Goliath, but we read 
that "the princes of the Philistines went forth, and it came to pass 
as often as they went forth that David behaved himself more wisely 
than the servants of Saul, so that his name was much set by" 
(1 Sam. xviii. 30). The king's jealousy was eventually kindled by 
the successes of David, and the royal enmity at last became so 



56 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

marked that he was compelled to flee for his life (i Sam. xxvii.- 

xix.). 

(6) The campaign against David. (See the next chapter.) 

(7) The last campaign against the Philistines. Saul's last en- 
counter with the Philistines took place in the famous battlefield, 
the plain of Esdraelon. The loss of David had weakened Saul's 
defence, and the death of Samuel had robbed him of his coun- 
sellor. In his terror he sought the witch of Endor, who called 
up the spirit of Samuel. Samuel could only foretell his coming 
defeat, which occurred the day following, Saul and his three sons 
being among the slain (1 Sam. xxxi.). 

3. SauPs Character. Saul was a patriot, a faithful defender of the 
cause he was called from the plow to espouse. He possessed cour- 
age and military genius, but he had an evil disposition, which first 
showed itself against his own son, Jonathan (xiv.), and grew 
worse as he was reminded by Samuel that he ruled only by the 
divine sanction. His conduct toward the Amalekites brought upon 
him a sentence of final rejection (1 Sam. xv. 23, 35). Bereft of 
Samuel's guidance and harassed by the unrelieved pressure of war, 
a spirit of strange and fitful melancholy came over him. The 
divine Spirit departed from him and an evil spirit from Jehovah 
troubled him. Even his self-respect was lost, for he sought counsel 
of a witch, whose class he had condemned and sought to exter- 
minate. His end was as pathetic as the beginning of his career was 
promising. The position of Israel at Saul's death was practically 
what it had been when he was called to the throne. The dominion 
of the Philistines was more securely established than ever. Saul 
had failed in his task because he had not appreciated the spiritual 
mission of his nation. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What was the condition of the nation under the Judges? 

2. Who was the last Judge? 

3. How was Samuel esteemed by the people? 

4. What demand did the people finally make? 

5. In what respects was Saul great? 

6. Describe his military campaigns. 

7. In what respect did Saul fail? 

8. What was the condition of Israel at Saul's death? 



LESSON XIII 
The United Monarchy 

(i Samuel xvi. to 2 Samuel) 

The united monarchy was established by David, whose reign 
was the brightest era in the history of Israel and one of the 
epochs in the movement of redemption. 

1. David's Family and Early Life. David was of the family of 
Jesse, of Bethlehem in the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Caleb and 
Othniel. By divine direction he was anointed by Samuel while 
still a shepherd boy (1 Sam. xvi. 13), being chosen over seven 
older brethren. In the discipline of his shepherd's life he ac- 
quired the courage which made him fearless before Goliath: "Thy 
servant was keeping his father's sheep; and when there came a 
lion, or a bear, and took a lamb of the flock, I went out after him 
and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth" (1 Sam. xvii. 
34, 35). 

2. David's Life at the Court of Saul. David was brought to the 
court of Saul at Gibeah as a minstrel to soothe his troubled spirit, 
and he became one of his warrior-heroes. Kindling the jealousy 
of Saul by his prowess, he was compelled to flee for his life and 
became ah outlaw. At least five attempts were made by Saul to 
kill him. The greatest human solace which David enjoyed in these 
days was the friendship of Jonathan. 

3. David's Outlaw Life. Obliged to leave Gibeah, David fled 
southward. He sought refuge with the priests of Nob, the religious 
center of the land after the destruction of Shiloh. Here he was 
supplied with weapons and was permitted to eat the sacred shew- 
bread for food. Thence he turned to Gath, the Philistine city, 
where he feigned madness to save his life. The cave of Adullam, 
in Judah, next furnished him a stronghold within his own tribe. 
The wilderness of Judah at Keilah furnished him his next resort, 
and here he defeated the Philistines, but fear of Saul and treach- 
ery on the part of the men of Keilah forced him again eastward to 
Ziph, in the desolate region overlooking the Dead Sea. Driven 

(57) 



58 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

from here by the treachery of the Ziphites, he retreated farther to 
the south into the wilderness of Maon. The stronghold of Engedi, 
on the shore of the Dead Sea, furnished his next retreat. Here he 
met Saul, and by sparing Saul's life he secured a promise of fair 
treatment. We next find David at Carmel, south of Hebron. At 
Hachilah, in the southern wilderness, David again spared Saul's 
life. David, however, could not rely on security so long as he 
remained in' Israelite territory. He felt driven to find refuge with 
the Philistines, among whom he remained a year and four months. 
Achish, king of Gath, assigned him and his followers a settlement 
in Ziklag, near Gaza. He was spared the necessity of fighting 
against Saul in the final invasion of the Philistines because of the 
suspicion of the Philistine chiefs. The news of Saul's death was 
brought to David in Ziklag and wrung from him the lament in 
2 Sam. i. (chap, xx.-xxxi.). 

4. David's Reign at Hebron. The death of Saul opened the way 
to David's return to his own territory. At the age of thirty David 
was called to the throne by the men of Judah, the ancient city of 
Hebron being chosen by divine direction as the seat of his govern- 
ment. He reigned there for seven and a half years (2 Sam. i.-iv.)- 
An effort was made by Abner to make Ishbosheth, the surviving 
son of Saul, king, and for a time there was war between the two 
houses. The murder of Abner and Ishbosheth brought the civil 
war to an end and left David free to direct his energies against 
the stronghold of the Jebusites, Jerusalem, which he made his 
capital, and brought thither the ark from Kir j ath-j earim. The 
Philistines resented this move and attacked David, but they were 
defeated in a notable battle in the vale of Rephaim (2 Sam. v., vi.). 

5. David's Reign at Jerusalem. David's first act in his new 
capital was strongly to fortify the city and build a royal palace. 
He then realized that it was not fitting that he should dwell in a 
house of cedar and the ark of Jehovah dwell within curtains. 
Hence he proposed to build a temple to Jehovah; but David was 
a man of war, and the prophet Nathan in Jehovah's name declined 
the proposal. It was David's mission to establish Israel in the 
borders promised to Abraham (Gen. xv. 18). To this end he 
thoroughly subdued the Philistines, the Moabites, the Edomites, the 
Amalekites, and finally the Syrians. The kingdom of David 
was now secure from the pressure of external enemies^ but new 
dangers threatened it from within, due to David's own sins. The 
bitterest drop in his cup was the rebellion of his favorite son, 



THE UNITED MONARCHY 59 

Absalom. David was driven from Jerusalem and was attacked by 
Absalom's army, but Absalom suffered defeat and lost his life, to 
David's great grief (xv. 13 to xviii. 33). The remaining years of 
David were disturbed by another insurrection, that of Sheba— the 
prelude of the disruption of the united kingdom (xix. 41 to xx. 22), 
6. David's Character. David was the greatest of Jewish kings, 
the standard and model by which all his successors were measured, 
and his fame and glory remained uneclipsed until the coming of 
his Greater Son, in whom the unfulfilled spiritual ideals of Israel 
were realized. He unified the nation and gave it its true position 
among the nations as the people of Jehovah. Under his reign the 
borders of Israel were extended to their widest limits. 



QUESTIONS 

1. By whom was the united monarchy established? 

2. What was David's early life? 

3. What was his experience at the court of Saul? 

4. Give an account of David's outlaw life. 

5. What occurred during his years at Hebron? 

6. Give an account of his reign at Jerusalem. 

7. What was David's mission in Israel? 

8. What is his place in Jewish history? 



LESSON XIV 
Solomon and the Disruption 

(i Kings i.-xi., 2 Chron. i.-ix.) 

David lived to see his son, Solomon, crowned his successor. 
Solomon was the son of Bathsheba, and he was the choice not only 
of David, the king, but also of Nathan, the prophet, and of Zadok, 
the priest, the latter anointing him. He was, therefore, born to 
the purple and received a kingdom already prepared for him 

1 Solomon's Wisdom. Solomon's first years were full of 
promise. He began his reign well, "walking in the statutes of 
David, his father." When God gave him his choice as_ to the 
nature of the divine blessing he chose wisdom (1 Kings 111. 5-15). 
A famous judicial decision pronounced by him at the beginning of 
his reign convinced his subjects that "the wisdom of God was with 
him to do judgment" (1 Kings iii. 28). Posterity credited him 
with an extraordinary knowledge of nature, and regarded him 
as the originator of proverbial wisdom (1 Kings iv. 30-33). His 
fame as a sage was spread abroad throughout the East; the Queen 
of Sheba (or Saba in Arabia) journeyed a thousand miles to prove 
him with hard questions" (1 Kings x. 1). 

2 Solomon's Wealth. Scarcely second to his wisdom was Solo- 
mon's wealth. The immense number of his horses and of the pro- 
visions for his table, given as they are in connection with the 
extent of his dominion, indicate what was contributed and not what 
was consumed (1 Kings iv. 21 f.). It is a proof of great wealth 
The magnificent presents of the Queen of Sheba, the wealth of 
gold, spices and precious stones which she laid at Solomon s feet, 
mark a great development of Israel's commerce with surrounding 
nations and the consequent growth of her luxury. This develop- 
ment of wealth was too rapid to be healthy, and the age of Solo- 
mon was a period not only of social advance, but also of religious 

3 Solomon's Diplomacy. Solomon inherited a kingdom, whose 
territory extended from the borders of Egypt to the Euphrates and 
as far north as the Orontes. Solomon was not a man of war, but 

(60) 



SOLOMON AND THE DISRUPTION 61 

an organizer and a diplomat. He was not slow to recognize the 
dangers which rendered his widely extended dominion unstable. 
It is true he built a chain of fortresses (i Kings ix. 15 f.), and he 
fortified Jerusalem, increased his army and introduced cavalry; 
but his chief method of protection was by diplomatic alliance. His 
motive in making his numerous foreign marriages was the peaceful 
protection of his crown. His most powerful friends were King 
Hiram of Tyre and the Pharaoh of Egypt. With the help of the 
former he built a fleet of ships and controlled the trade to India; 
with the help of the latter the caravan trade between Egypt and 
Mesopotamia reached its most profitable development. 

4. Solomon's Temple. Neither Solomon's wisdom nor his wealth 
constituted his chief title to remembrance, but the fact that he was 
the builder of the temple at Jerusalem, the visible monument of the 
religious unity of Israel. The temple was the dream of his father, 
David, who had spent the energies of his peaceful years in prepar- 
ing for it. It was built on the site now occupied by the Dome 
of the Rock, the so-called Mosque of Omar, on Mount Moriah. 
The temple itself was constructed of huge blocks of stone, ready 
hewn and squared in the quarry. Like the tabernacle, the temple 
was oblong in shape, consisting of two chambers, the Holy Place 
(40 by 20 cubits), and the Holy of Holies (which formed a perfect 
cube of 20 cubits). The Holy of Holies contained the ark and the 
golden cherubim, and was lighted only by the mysterious light of 
the divine presence. It was separated from the Holy Place by a rich 
curtain, which only the high priest might pass. Within, the temple 
was covered with pure gold. The approach to the Holy Place con- 
sisted of a porch, with two bronze pillars at the entrance, Jachin 
and Boaz. Along the outer walls were chambers rising three 
stories high. Outside of the temple was the court of the priests, 
where daily sacrifices were offered, and where the brazen altar, the 
huge laver and the golden candlestick stood. Beyond this was 
the court of the Jews, and beyond that again was the court of the 
Gentiles. The temple was completed in seven years, and its dedica- 
tion was the most splendid religious feast in Jewish history. 

5. The Decline of Solomon's Power. Solomon needed large re- 
sources to maintain his institutions and luxury. Like an oriental 
sultan he maintained a harem of foreign wives. The revenue 
from his commerce and his tolls was considerable, but he relied 
chiefly on the taxation of his people. Accordingly Palestine was 
divided into twelve fiscal districts, each having the supply of the 



62 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

royal expenses for a month at a time. As the magnificence cen- 
tered in Jerusalem the northern tribes, under the leadership of 
Ephraim, rebelled, while foreign enemies— Hadad the Edomite and 
Rezon of Zobah— harassed Solomon from without. While the 
kingdom retained its unity in Solomon's lifetime, like all such 
states whose material prosperity is not counterbalanced by moral 
character, its doom was written from within. 

6. The Character of Solomon. — The character of Solomon is 
an enigma. In his early years he gave promise of great piety. 
His early choice of wisdom, his prayers at the dedication of the 
temple seemed to indicate a singularly humble and devout spirit. 
But Solomon did not continue as he began. His love of luxury and 
his licentiousness turned him to idolatry, bringing upon him the 
divine judgment. Foes without and dissentions within the king- 
dom harassed his last days, and he died a warning rather than an 
example to his nation (xi.). 

Chronological Note. It is stated in I Kings vi. i that Solomon, 
in the fourth year of his reign, began to build the temple 480 
years after the exodus. Professor Robertson makes the following 
approximation of the details : 

The Desert period lasted 40 years. 

Joshua survived Moses 25 years. 

The Judges from Othniel to Samuel 332 years. 

Saul reigned (see Acts xiii. 21) 40 years. 

David reigned (see 1 Kings ii. 11) 40 years. 

Solomon began the temple after 3 years. 

480 years. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Who was Solomon? 

2. What was his chief personal characteristic? 

3. What is said of his wealth? 

4. How did Solomon retain his great power? 

5. What was his chief work? Give a general description of the 
temple. 

6. What led to Solomon's downfall? 

7. What estimate is to be placed on his character? 

8. How long was it from the Exodus to the building of Solo- 
mon's temple? 



LESSON XV 
The Kingdom of Israel 

(Books: i Kings xii.-xxii., 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles x.-xxxvi.) 

The Books of Kings, like the books of Samuel, are a continuous 
narrative. Originally, and until 1517 A. D., they were one book in 
the Hebrew Bible. The name explains itself ; they are annals of the 
Hebrew kings from Solomon to the captivity of Judah, a period of 
four hundred years. That is a long period to be covered in so 
short a space, especially considering the important events it in- 
cluded. The account is necessarily fragmentary and condensed. 
Long reigns are sometimes disposed of in a few verses. The ex- 
planation is, the whole history is presented from a religious point 
of view. Whenever the narrative begins to expand it is plain that 
the matter has religious significance. From chapter xii. of 1 Kings 
the narrative gives us the salient points in the history of the 
divided kingdoms. The fortunes of the two kingdoms are narrated 
contemporaneously in Kings.* 

The Divided Kingdom. The division of the kingdom came 
about as the result of the jealousy of Ephraim and the heedless 
folly of Rehoboam, who succeeded Solomon. During the later 
years of Solomon's reign much dissatisfaction arose because of the 
heavy taxes imposed on the people. When Rehoboam ascended the 
throne a delegation, headed by Jeroboam, came asking for relief. 
Rehoboam haughtily refused. The revolt of the ten tribes followed 
(1 Kings xii. 1 to xiv. 20). 

The Kingdom of Israel 

We shall first follow the course of the kingdom of the ten tribes. 

It lasted upwards of two hundred and fifty years, and at the end of 

that period it was destroyed by the Assyrians. During that time it 

had nineteen kings, belonging to nine different families.f There are 

* The writer of Chronicles traces the history of the southern kingdom, only 
incidentally giving the history of the northern kingdom. We take the kingdoms 
separately for our study. 

f See Appendix I. The arrangement is that of Dr. W. G. Blaikie, "Manual of 
Bible History," used by permission of T. Nelson & Sons. 

(63) 



64 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

four clearly defined periods in the history of this kingdom: in the 
first, the most prominent king was Jeroboam ; in the second, Ahab ; 
in the third, Jehu; in the fourth, Pekah. During the first period 
idolatry took root; during the second, it was dominant; during the 
third it was somewhat checked through the influence of the proph- 
ets ; during the fourth it ended in the downfall of the kingdom. 

1. Idolatry Taking Root. In order to keep his people away from 
Jerusalem and the influence of the southern kingdom, Jeroboam set 
up two golden calves, one at Bethel, just north of Judah, and the 
other at Dan, at the extreme north of the kingdom. "It is too much 
for you to go up to Jerusalem," he said; "behold thy gods, O 
Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt" (i Kings 
xii. 28). It was a bad beginning and it was solemnly denounced by 
God through a prophet sent from Judah (xiii.). Jeroboam made 
priests of the lowest of the people and acquired for himself in his- 
tory the unenviable reputation, "Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who 
made Israel to sin." Jeroboam was succeeded by his son Nadab 
(xv. 25-30) ; then Eaasha, the murderer of Nadab, took possession 
of the kingdom and was followed by his son, Elah, who was mur- 
dered by his own servant, Zimri. The murderer, however, after a 
week, was succeeded by Omri, who founded Samaria as the capital 
of the northern kingdom and the dynasty which bears his name 
(xvi.). 

2. Idolatry Dominant. Omri was succeeded by his son, Ahab, 
under whom the country received a terrible impulse toward idolatry 
and consequent ruin. The moving spirit of his iniquity was Jezebel, 
his wife, daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, whose name is 
a synonym of wickedness to this day. She led her husband to estab- 
lish the worship of Baal and Ashtarte, nature deities, and to perse- 
cute the prophets of Jehovah, putting them to the sword. "Ahab 
did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the 
kings of Israel that were before him" (xvi. 33). The result was the 
appearance of Elijah the Tishbite, whose life-long conflict with the 
king is the most conspicuous feature in his reign. Elijah and his 
successor, Elisha, did their best to stay idolatry, but their efforts 
were largely in vain. Not till the fiery Jehu appeared and ruth- 
lessly exterminated the house of Ahab was idolatry checked and 
Baal worship stopped (2 Kings ix.). 

3. Idolatry Slightly Checked. The reigns of Jehu and those of 
Jehoahaz and Joash (Jehoash), his son and grandson, lasted about 
sixty years, but they are marked by no important event except the 



THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL 65 

death of Elisha (xiii. 14-21). Under the long and faithful ministry 
of Elisha idolatry appears to have received a check, so that the de- 
struction of the kingdom was arrested for a time. The chief reign 
of this period was that of Jeroboam II., which lasted forty-one 
years, in which Israel enjoyed great outward prosperity, but which 
was made memorable by the appearance of the prophets, Jonah, 
Amos and Hosea. The prophetic note now is that of impending 
doom. That the nation may be made to see how hateful idolatry 
is to God, Jonah is sent to Nineveh to declare its doom, Amos 
preaches the day of the divine indignation in merciless rebuke, while 
Hosea pleads like a wooing lover. But "Ephraim is wedded' to his 
idols." Nothing can save the wayward nation. 

4. Idolatry Ends in Captivity. The kings who follow Jeroboam 
II. are murderers and profligates. The common record of them now 
is, "And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord and fol- 
lowed the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, which made Israel to 
sin." Zachariah, the son of Jeroboam, was openly murdered after 
a reign of six months. His murderer, Shallum, reigned a month 
and was in turn murdered by Menahem, who reigned ten years. 
His son, Pekahiah, reigned two years, when he was slain by Pekah, 
whose reign continued through twenty years. During his reign 
Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, invaded the land and carried off 
many of the inhabitants. Pekah was murdered by Hoshea (2 Kings 
xv. 8-30, in whose reign Samaria was taken by Shalmaneser, king 
of Assyria. Hoshea and his people were carried captive to Assyria, 
and the kingdom of the ten tribes came to an end (2 Kings xvi. 9 to 
xvii. 4O. Aliens were now sent by the Assyrians as colonists in 
their land. In this way the population became much mixed, the 
Samaritans, of whom we read in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, 
being descendants of this mongrel race. 

POINTS TO BE FIXED 

1. The northern kingdom fell in 722 B. C., and was never restored. 

2. The chief prophets of the northern kingdom were Elijah, Elisha, 
Jonah, Hosea and Amos. 

3. Two foreign foes harassed Israel— the Syrians in the early days 
and the Assyrians in the later days of the kingdom. Of the former, 
Hazael and Ben-hadad are the kings mentioned. Naaman, Ben- 
hadad's general in the days of Ahab, was cured by Elisha. The con- 
test with Syria lasted a hundred years and was ended by the inter- 
ference of the Assyrians, who crushed both. There were at least 

5 



66 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

three invasions of Israel by the Assyrians: (i) by Shalmaneser II., 
to whom Jehu paid tribute (mentioned only on the monuments) ; 
(2) by Pul a military adventurer, in the reign of Menahem (2 Kings 
xv 19) who, as Tiglath-Pileser II., returned in the reign of Pekah 
(2Kings xv. 29) ; (3) by Shalmaneser IV., who took the tribes into 
captivity. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What period of time is covered by the books of Kings? 

2. What led to the division of the kingdom? 

3. How long did the northern kingdom continue? 

4. Into what periods does its history divide itself? 

5. Name the principal king in each. 

6. What great prophets appeared in Israel? 

7. When was Israel taken captive, and by whom? 



LESSON XVI 
The Kingdom of Judah 

(Books: i and 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles x.-xxxvi., Isaiah, Jeremiah) 

The kingdom of Judah lasted one hundred and thirty-four years 
after the fall of the kingdom of Israel, or about four hundred years 
after the revolt of the ten tribes. During that period nineteen kings 
sat on the throne, all of the same dynasty, lineal descendants of 
David* Four distinct periods are marked by the religious moods 
of the nation— four distinct declines, from all of which there was 
reformation except the last 

1. First Decline and First Revival. The people of Judah began 
to do "evil in the sight of the Lord" in the days of Rehoboam. 
They were chastened by an invasion of Shishak, king of Egypt (1 
Kings xiv. 25, 26). Rehoboam was succeeded by Abijam, "who 
walked in all the sins of his father and whose heart was not perfect 
with the Lord his God." After Abijam came Asa, who in his long 
reign of forty-one years showed reforming zeal and was successful 
in his conflict with Israel (1 Kings xv. 9-24)- Under Jehoshaphat 
(2 Chron. xvii. to xx.), whose reign lasted twenty-five years, Judah's 
power reached high-water mark. Jehoshaphat "did what was right 
in the sight of the Lord" (i Kings xxii. 43). He not only strength- 
ened and fortified his cities, but he gave his personal attention to the 
religious needs of his people, in which the princes took part with 
the Levites in teaching the people. Jehoshaphat felt the mistake 
of the separation of the kingdoms, and while he could not undo it, 
through his amiability he was induced to form an alliance with 
Ahab, king of Israel, which proved hurtful to his kingdom. The 
alliance continued in the time of Ahab's sons and successors (1 
Kings xxii. 41 to 2 Kings iii.) and was cemented by the marriage 
of Jehoshaphat's son, Jehoram, to Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab 
and Jezebel (2 Kings viii. 16-18). 
2. Second Decline and Second Revival. Jehoram succeeded 

* See Appendix II. The arrangement is that of Dr. W. G. Blaikie, "Manual 
of Bible History," used by permission of T. Nelson & Sons. 

(67) 



68 



LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 



his father, Jehoshaphat, and reigned eight years. The pernicious 
influence of his wife at once began to be felt. "He walked m the 
ways of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab," is Jehoram s 
brief but significant biography (2 Kings viii. 18). Ahaziah, his son 
and successor, fell under the vengeance of Jehu (ix. 27). Athaliah, 
the murderess, assumed the throne, and for six years the land 
groaned under her tyranny (xi. 1-3). Joash, the infant son of Ahaziah 
who was saved by Jehoida the high priest, for forty years vacillated 
between good and evil, and was finally slain by his own servants 
(xii. 20). During his reign Hazael, king of Syria, advanced against 
Gath, and would have besieged Jerusalem had he not been bought 
off by a bribe of the sacred treasures of the temple (xii. 17-21). 
The reign of Amaziah, his son, was signalized by a war with Edom, 
in which he triumphed, and by a war with Israel, in which he was de- 
feated (xiv.). The reign of his successor, Uzziah (Azariah), was 
the longest in the history of Judah, up to this point, fifty-two years. 
He began well, but prosperity spoiled him, and he was smitten with 
leprosy for his sacrilege (xv.). Isaiah, the great prophet, ^comes 
upon the stage of Judah's history in his reign. Jotham, his suc- 
cessor, had to face a conspiracy of Pekah, of Israel, and Rezin, of 
Damascus (xv. 32-38) ; and the danger became so great in the reign 
of his successor, Ahaz, that the latter sent offers of submission to 
Assyria as the price of assistance (xvi. 1-8), against the remon- 
strances of Isaiah. Better days for Judah came with Hezekiah, 
"the good king," who brought about a revival of religion throughout 
the land. The inspiring genius of Hezekiah's reign was Isaiah, who 
saw the character of succeeding kings and foretold the approaching 
captivity. The chief external event in Hezekiah's reign was the 
siege of Sennacherib, the great Assyrian being turned back by "a 
blast from the Lord" (xix. 7)- The prophets Micah and Nahum 
appear at this point. 

3. Third Decline and Third Revival. The destruction of Judah 
was accelerated by the next two kings, Manasseh and Amon (2 
Kings xxi.). Manasseh reigned fifty-five years. He was carried 
a vassal to Babylon by Esar-haddon, but was restored (2 Chron. 
xxxiii. 10-13). Josiah, encouraged by the prophets Zephaniah and 
Jeremiah, began a reforming crusade, but the promise of better 
things raised by his zeal was quenched by his early death while 
fighting against Pharaoh-necho, king of Egypt, at Megiddo (2 Kings 
xxii., xxiii.). 

4. Final Decline. From this point the history of Judah hastens 



THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH 69 

to its close. After setting aside Jehoahaz, a son of Josiah, Pharaoh 
makes his brother Jehoiakim king; but he is hard pressed by the 
Babylonians, and the next king, Jehoiachin, is a mere puppet in 
Nebuchadnezzar's hands. National independence is no more. Jehoi- 
achin, with ten thousand of his people, Daniel among the number, is 
taken to Babylon. Zedekiah is the next king, and throughout his 
eleven years he is constantly plied by Jeremiah's prophecies. Zede- 
kiah angered the Babylonian king by a revolt, and Nebuchadnezzar 
marched against Jerusalem, and after a siege of three years de- 
stroyed it, carrying Judah into captivity (2 Kings xxv.). 

POINTS TO BE FIXED 

1. The kingdom of Judah fell in 586 B. C, and the people went into 
captivity for seventy years. 

2. The chief prophets of the southern kingdom were Joel, Isaiah, 
Micah, Nahum, Jeremiah, Habakkuk and Obadiah. 

3. Three foreign foes harassed Judah — the Assyrians under Sen- 
nacherib and Esar-haddon, the Egyptians under Pharaoh-necho, and 
the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar, under whom Judah went 
into captivity. 

QUESTIONS 

1. How long did the southern kingdom continue? 

2. Into what periods does its history divide itself? 

3. Name the principal king in each. 

4. What great prophets appeared in Judah? 

5. When was Judah taken captive, and by whom? 



LESSON XVII 



The Captivity and the Restoration 

(Books: Isaiah, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Malachi.) 

Places: Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, Palestine. 

i. The Captivity of Israel. The children of Jacob are now scat- 
tered in four or five different countries. Assyria, Media, Babylonia, 
Egypt and Palestine contained each a part of them. The successive 
invasions of the northern kingdom by the kings of Assyria, with the 
results of each, are seen at a glance in the following table: * 



Year 
B. C. 


Assyrian Kings. 


Kings of 
Israel. 


People Carried 
Off. 


Kings of 
Judah. 


. — ■ 

Year Before 

Destruction 
of Jerusalem. 


77i 
740 
721 


Pul. 

Tiglath-Pileser. 

Shalmaneser. 


Menahem. 

Pekah. 

Hoshea. 


Reuben, Gad, 

etc. 
Gilead, Galilee, 

etc. 
All Israel. 


Uzziah. 

Ahaz. 

Hezekiah. 


183 

152 

133 





Assyria was a cruel nation, and the Israelites suffered many hard- 
ships at their hands. The greater part of the captives were placed 
in the province of Media. That land became an independent king- 
dom under Deioces (Arphaxad), who made Ecbatana his capital. 
The social condition of Israel in Media was much better than in 
Assyria, but their religious condition did not improve. What ulti- 
mately became of the Ten Tribes is one of the unsolved problems 

of history. 

2. The Captivity of Judah. In the kingdom of Judah, as in that 
of the Ten Tribes, the captives were carried off in three detach- 
ments, as is shown by the following table :f 

* The arrangement is that of Dr. W. G. Blaikie, "Manual of Bible History," 
used by permission of T. Xelson & Sons. 

t The arrangement is that of Dr. W. G. Blaikie, "Manual of Bible History, 
used by permission of T. Nelson & Sons. 

(70) 



THE CAPTIVITY AND THE RESTORATION 



71 



Year 
B.C. 


Kings of 
Judah. 


The Conqueror. 


People Carried Off. 


607 

599 
588 


Jehoiakim. 

Jehoiachin. 
Zedekiah. 


Nebuchadnezzar acting 

for his father. 
Nebuchadnezzar. 
Nebuchadnezzar. 


Daniel and Other Princes. 

10,000 chief people. 
Nearly all the people. 



A remnant remained in the Holy Land, and a larger remnant found 
its way to Egypt. 

The dominant power in the East now was Babylon, which, under 
Nebuchadnezzar, rose to great proportions. Nebuchadnezzar was 
one of the most powerful monarchs who ever reigned in the East. 
He brought into one empire Chaldea, Assyria, Arabia, Palestine, 
Egypt, and other countries. It was in his reign that the events re- 
corded in the early chapters of Daniel occurred. Babylonia was 
overthrown by Cyrus, the Persian, who had been designated by 
Isaiah as the deliverer of the Jews, though the city of Babylon, sur- 
rounded by walls of enormous height and strength, and having 
provisions for twenty years, long remained free. How Cyrus took 
Babylon is told in Daniel v. Though Babylon was taken by Cyrus, 
its nominal master, Gobryus, the Persian general and satrap of 
Assyria, conducted the military campaign. He is called in Scripture 
Darius the Mede. He and Cyrus divided their vast empire into 
one hundred and twenty provinces, over which they placed three 
presidents, of whom Daniel was the first, when Cyrus was absent 
on a military expedition. Daniel's enemies accused him to Darius, 
who cast him into a den of lions. Daniel's miraculous escape raised 
him to still higher honors (Daniel vi.). 

3. Foregleams of Restoration. Darius soon died, and Cyrus 
succeeded to the magnificent Medo-Persian empire. It is not difficult 
to imagine the status of Daniel before this monarch and to believe 
that the venerable prophet would call the king's attention to Isaiah's 
prophecy concerning him (Isa. xlv.). Yielding to the impression of 
such truths as these prophecies contain, Cyrus, among his first acts, 
issued a decree permitting the Jews to return and build their temple 
at Jerusalem. While many of the Jews, having prospered in Baby- 
lon, did not now care to return, yet, as a state of compulsory bond- 
age, the Babylonian captivity was at an end. 

4. The Several Expeditions to Jerusalem. There were three 
expeditions to Jerusalem. 

(1) The first Jewish leader was Zerubbabel, who left Babylon 



72 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

when Cyrus came to the throne, 535 B. C. After an interval of 
about twenty years, he was enabled to complete the rebuilding of the 
temple, in the reign of Darius Hystaspes, the ablest prince who ever 
sat upon the throne of Persia. 

(2) The second Jewish leader was Ezra, who went from Babylon 
about eighty years after Zerubbabel, 458 B. C, in the reign of Arta- 
xerxes Longimanus. His work was to restore the institutions of 
Moses in the worship of Jehovah. 

(3) The third Jewish leader was Nehemiah, who went up from 
Susa (Shushan) later in the reign of the same Artaxerxes, 445 
B. C. He rebuilt the wall and set up the gates of Jerusalem, and 
instituted many reforms. 

5. The Interval Between the Old Testament and the New. 

There is a great historical chasm of four hundred years in length 
stretching between the Old Testament and the New. During that 
time there was neither prophet nor inspired writer among the Jews. 
Our knowledge of the history of this time is derived chiefly from 
Josephus, a distinguished Jew of Jerusalem, born 37 A. D. The 
land of Palestine during this period was under the dominion of the 
following : 

(i) It was under the rule of the Persians to the year 333 B. C. 

(2) It was under the rule of Alexander the Great for the next 

ten years. 

(3) On his death (323 B. C.) it fell, after a long contest, under the 
Ptolemys of Egypt, and so remained until 204 B. C. 

(4) It then came under the rule of Syria, till it was set free by 
the Maccabees, 163 B. C. 

(5) It was ruled by the Maccabees for a hundred years. 

(6) It was taken by the Romans under Pompey (63 B. C.) and 
made tributary to the great mistress of the world. 



QUESTIONS 

1. Under what powers was the northern kingdom captive? 

2. What became of the Ten Tribes ? 

3. Under what powers was the southern kingdom captive? 

4. Who was the most powerful of all the oriental monarchs? 

5. Who succeeded the Babylonians as a world-power? 

6. Who did Isaiah say would be the deliverer of the Jews? 



THE CAPTIVITY AND THE RESTORATION 73 

7. What expeditions returned to Palestine? 

8. How long an interval elapsed before the coming of Jesus 
Christ? 

9. Under what rulers was Palestine during these four hundred 
years ? 



LESSON XVIII 
The Prophets 

i. Definition. The prophets were a series of men appearing at 
different times in the history of Israel, claiming to be. and acknowl- 
edged to be, in a special sense, the spokesmen of God. By the 
derivation of the word they vrere '■announcers''' or "heralds" of the 
divine will There are a number of other terms used in the Old Tes- 
tament to designate a prophet He is called a "man of God" (i Sam. 
ix. 6; i Kings xvii. 18), a "servant" (i Kings xviii. 36; Isa. xx. 3), 
a ''•'messenger" (Isa. xliii. 27), a "seer" (1 Sam. ix. 9). and a 
"watchman" (Ezek. iii. 17). All these terms express a close rela- 
tion between the prophet and God. The prophet was '"a mediator 
by speech between God and man." Prediction was only a part, and 
the less important part, of his function. 

2. The Earlier, or Pre-Wiiting Prophets. The founder of 
Hebrew prophecy was Moses (Jer. vii. 25), though Abraham is 
also called a prophet (Gen. xx. 7) and the patriarchs are so de- 
scribed (Ps. cv. 5). The prophets came into special prominence at 
two important crises in Israel's history: the invasions of the Philis- 
tines in the eleventh, and the Syrian war of the ninth century. B. C. 
Groups or bands of prophets first appeared in the time of Samuel 
and continued for several centuries. Prior to the writing prophets 
the two names of greatest importance are Samuel and Elijah. 
Samuel in his own day was called a "seer." and was consulted as 
an oracle. To him more than to anyone else the national enthu- 
siasm in the Philistine wars was due. He was the popular relig- 
ious leader of his day. A still more picturesque champion of 
Jehovah was Elijah. In his conflict with Jezebel and the prophets 
of Baal (1 Kings xviii.), and his announcement of the doom of 
the royal house (1 Kings xxi.), he was a militant prophet, a popular 
champion of monotheism. Elijah's contest on Mount Carmel is one 
of the grandest scenes in history. Though not less influential, 
Elisha was a less heroic character than his master. Elijah. He was 
a pastor rather than a preacher, the '''father of his people," whose 
miracles were wrought usually for the relief of distress. 

(74) 



THE PROPHETS 75 

3. The Later, or Writing Prophets. After Elijah and Elisha 
the prophets withdrew from external national conflicts. They no 
longer headed revolutions, but they continued to be statesmen. 
They continued to have as their dominating mission the salvation of 
the nation from harmful foreign alliances, with their consequent 
religious synergism ; but the only weapon which they used was the 
word of God, which came to them by special revelation. Instead 
of dealing with individual kings and dynasties, they now dealt with 
the people as a nation. It was not enough to exterminate Baal wor- 
ship. Jehovah was a God of righteousness and required righteous- 
ness in the lives of those who professed His name. It is morality 
for its own sake that Jehovah honors and immorality that He pun- 
ishes (Amos iv. 12, Micah vi. 8). As the keynote of prophecy 
became less national and more ethical that class of prophets known 
as the "false" prophets arose. This name does not mean that they 
were intentional deceivers. They were rather self-deceived. They 
lived in the confidence that Jehovah would not allow the nation to be 
overthrown and that in a crisis He would always come to the help 
of Israel. Naturally they were more popular than the true proph- 
ets. It may have been their unpopularity, because of the more 
gloomy message, that drove the true prophets to the pen. How- 
ever that may be, we are now concerned with the writing prophets. 
At first they did not seem to take pains to preserve their message 
in writing, though a number of them have left written compositions, 
embodying their teachings, which bear their names. We have 
learned that they are commonly divided into the Major Prophets 
(Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel) and the Minor Prophets 
(Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, 
Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi). This division does 
not indicate either the importance or the date of the prophecies, 
but it is due to the relative length of the books. The writing 
prophets have been classified in the following groups: 

'Amos 
(1) Those who appeared shortly before the fall Hosea 



of Samaria, 721 B. C 



Isaiah 
Micah 



Of these the first three are among the greatest of the prophets, 
while in Micah we have one of the greatest sayings in the Old 
Testament (vi. 8). 



76 



LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 



(2) Those who appeared shortly before the fall of 
Jerusalem, 586 B. C 



r Jeremiah 

Ezekiel 

Zephaniah 

Nahum 
„ Habakkuk 



These men stood on the brink of the destruction of their nation, 
and the two greatest of them, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, lay stress on 
those aspects of religion which would persist after the nation was 
extinct, namely, personal piety and individual responsibility. 

' Haggai 
(3) The prophets of the restoration and of the Zechariah 

post-exilic period 1 Malachi 

L Obadiah 

Isaiah xl.-lxvi., called Second Isaiah, is by many included in this 
division, as are Joel, Jonah and Daniel. The exact date of these 
prophecies is not important, and it is impossible with our present 
knowledge to give an exact date. Daniel seems to date itself; and 
of the others the message is far more important than the time and 
place of writing. 

A very good classification according to their mission has been 
made as follows : 



Jonah " 
Amos 



- tried to save Israel from the Assyrians. They failed. 
Hosea ' 

Micah 

Joel % 

Nahum V tried to save Judah from the Assyrians. They succeeded. 

Isaiah ) 



Jeremiah 

Zephaniah 

Habakkuk 

Daniel 



tried to save Judah from the Babylonians. They failed. 



uaniei \ 

Ezekiel \ preached reform during the Babylonian captivity. 

Obadiah J 



THE PROPHETS 77 

Haggai -\ 

7 1 'ah I after the return tried to rebuild the kingdom and 

■w i i • J preached the coming of the Messiah. 



QUESTIONS 

i. Who were the prophets? 

2. Who was the founder of Hebrew prophecy? 

3. What two crises in Israel's history brought the prophets into 
prominence? 

4. Who were the most important pre-writing prophets? 

5. What difference marked the "writing" prophets? 

6. What were "false" prophets? 

7. How are the prophets commonly classified? 

8. How are they sometimes classified according to their date? 

9. How are they classified according to their mission and success ? 



LESSON XIX 

Amos, the Prophet of the Moral Law 

While it will not be possible for us to study all the prophets in 
detail, an acquaintance with the messages of the chief prophets is 
necessary to an understanding of the Old Testament. It is best 
and most natural to take the prophets as nearly as possible in their 
chronological order. The order of the prophets in our English 
Bible is determined rather by the length of the books than by the 
relative dates. The first of the writing prophets of prominence is 

Amos. 

1. The Man. Of Amos we know only what his book itself tells 
us, viz., that he was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamore trees 
in Tekoa, six miles south of Bethlehem, a barren and desolate re- 
gion, and that the word of Jehovah came to him in the reign 
of Jeroboam II. (781-740 B. C). Amos disclaims being a pro- 
phet or the son of a prophet (vii. 14). By this he means that 
he did not belong to the prophetic order, and hence had not the 
training of a professional prophet. He was a plain man— as we 
judge from the fact that his father's name is not given— whose 
solitude had given him a clear vision of reality and whose isolation 
had made the companionship of God more welcome. 

2. The Age. The period in which Amos was called to his 
prophetic work was one of singular external advantage. A great 
change had come over Israel and Judah with the advent of the 
eighth century B. C. Israel had recovered her possessions east of 
the Jordan and was enjoying the peaceful reign of Jeroboam II. 
Judah was established in all her borders under the strong hand of 
Uzziah. It was an era of peace and prosperity. Commerce flour- 
ished and wealth abounded. City life was developed, with its 
luxury and ease. There was feasting and drinking in excess. Not 
only the king, but many rich men also had their palaces and 
summer houses. The distinction between the rich and the poor 
widened. Religion became mere ceremonialism. The sacred feasts 
were thronged by devotees, who rivaled one another in their tithes 
and offerings. But these sacred festivals were looked upon as 

(78) 



AMOS, THE PROPHET OF THE MORAL LAW 79 

times for revelry. The Mosaic conception of God as a God of 
righteousness had been forgotten. The claims of morality and 
justice were ignored. 

3. The Message. Amos appeared at Bethel, the royal sanctuary 
of the northern kingdom and the most popular of the religious 
shrines of his day, at the autumn feast, when the elite of the 
nation were assembled for worship. It was in the year 760 B. C, 
when revelry was the order of the day, when the rich were to be 
found reclining on their couches of ivory, anointed with precious 
oils, drinking choice wines from costly bowls and multiplying in- 
struments of music, that this plain, austere man came on the scene 
like an apparition and under the shadow of the royal palace began 
to chant his prophetic dirge: 

"Fallen, to rise no more, 
Is the virgin of Israel; 
Prostrate she lies on her soil, 
There is none to upraise her." (V. 2.) 

Amos saw the real significance of that steady westward move- 
ment of Assyria which has been described as "by far the greatest 
event in the eighth century B. G," the scourge which Providence 
was preparing for the overthrow of Israel. How much of the 
book as we now have it was orally delivered we do not know. As 
his oracles have been collected they may be thus grouped : 

(1) The Approaching Judgment of the Nations (i. 2 to ii. 16). 

(2) The Case of Israel (ii.-vi.). 

The Indictment (iii. 1, 2). 

The Prophet's Credentials (iii. 3-8). 

The Approval of the Heathen (iii. 8-15). 

The Depth of Israel's Guilt (iv.). 

The Unwilling Severity of Jehovah (v. vi.). 

(3) Visions of Israel's Fate (vii.-ix. 8). 

(4) A Penitent Remnant (ix. 8-15). 

Amos has been called "the Doomsman of Israel." The theme of 
his book is judgment. It was aimed to shatter the popular confi- 
dence that Israel was the chosen people of Jehovah, and, therefore, 
immune from destruction. "You only," says Jehovah, "have I 
known of all the families of the earth; therefore" — not "will I 
pass over," but — "will I visit upon you all your iniquities" (iii. 2). 

Amos's prophecy is one of severe denunciation, except the last. 



80 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

eight verses. So relentless is his denunciation that some critics 
have doubted that these verses came from his pen. But destruction 
was never the last word of any prophet. The prophets were 
preachers of repentance, but the inspiration of repentance is hope. 
Israel's judgment was in order to her salvation. 



QUESTIONS 

1. What do we know of the personal life of Amos? 

2. What was the condition of Israel in the eighth century B. C? 

3. What message did Amos bring to Israel? 

4. Was "doom" the last word of Amos for Israel? 



LESSON XX 
Hosea, the Prophet of Love 

Amos was the first of the great writing prophets; Hosea was 
the second. As Amos interpreted religion in terms of law, Hosea 
interpreted it in terms of love. "He is the first prophet of grace, 
Israel's first evangelist." 

i. The Man. Amos was a plain, untutored countryman from the 
uplands of Judea; Hosea was a city man of rank and culture. 
His father's name, which Jewish tradition identifies with a Reuben- 
ite prince, who was carried into captivity (i Ch. v. 6) is given. 
Like Amos, Hosea abounds in figures taken from country life; 
so that, while he lived in Samaria he was probably not a native 
of the city. He was the only resident writing prophet that the 
northern kingdom produced. 

2. The Age. Hosea says that he received his visions in the days 
of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and of 
Jeroboam, king of Israel. Chapters i.-iii. undoubtedly refer to 
events of the time of Jeroboam II., while chapters iv.-xiv. seem 
to reflect the troubled period subsequent to that time. For these 
reasons Hosea's date has been fixed at 750-735 B. C. Since Amos's 
day Israel had been drifting rapidly to its doom. Jeroboam did 
not long survive the advent of Hosea. His son and successor, 
Zachariah, was slain after six months. Then followed a period of 
anarchy. From 760 to 732 B. C. there were no less than seven 
different kings of Israel, and of these four were assassinated by 
their successors. Meanwhile the people reflected the instability 
of their government by the instability of their religion. They had 
taken over the high places of the Canaanites, and from the begin- 
ning of their life in Canaan they had been a prey to the temptation 
to religious syncretism — the mixing of the worship of Jehovah with 
the worship of the local Baal. The shrines on many a hilltop had 
become places of public prostitution (iv. 13), and they had grown 
steadily more popular. And now the worship of Jehovah itself had 
become so infected that Hosea declared that it was nothing short 
of the worship of Baal. He charges that they no longer knew 

6 (81) 



82 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

Jehovah (v. 4). Their feasts were but a whoring after other gods. 
Worship, which centered in calflike figures and "mazzeboth," was 
not likely to have a high ethical bearing on life. In consequence, 
also, injustice and fraud were rife in the very precincts of the 
sanctuary. The prophet denounces those that "removed the land- 
mark" (v. 10), and those also who oppress by means of "balances 
of deceit" (xii. 7). 

3. Hosea's Preparation for His Task. Such was the situation 
when Hosea was called to his mission. Amos had been a voice of 
judgment. A prophet was needed with as keen a conscience as 
Amos's, but with a more tender heart— a prophet of grace. To 
prepare him for this office Hosea was permitted to marry Gomer, 
who became the mother of his children and then became unfaith- 
ful and left his house. Then to Hosea in his sorrow Jehovah 
revealed that Israel had been as unfaithful to Him as Gomer had 
been to Hosea, that the sin of the nation against its God had 
been "whoredom," but that He had not for that reason given His 
people up. By the divine example Hosea is led to buy back from 
her slavery his unfaithful wife and restore her to her home. 

4. Hosea's Message. The spiritual idea of the relation between 
Jehovah and Israel had been lost. Having come to look upon Deity, 
under the influence of Baal worship, as a mere fertilizer of field 
and flock, he saw that Israel was playing the harlot. The new 
generation of Israel were not Jehovah's spiritual children. Logi- 
cally the next step would have been for Jehovah to divorce his 
unfaithful spouse, but He is God and not man. "How shall I 
give thee up, Ephraim? How shall I surrender thee, Israel? My 
heart is turned within me. My compassions are kindled together" 
(xi. 8, 9). This is Hosea's message. The nation must first be 
brought to repentance (ii. 6-13). Hope must be held out (ii. 16- 
23). God will yet heal His people and love them freely (xiv. 4). 

5. The Second Book of Hosea, as ch. iv.-xiv. are sometimes 
called, contains the substance of the prophet's discourses during 
the years subsequent to Jeroboam II. It is difficult to trace a defi- 
nite plan of arrangement. The prophet exhorts, laments, warns, 
pleads, denounces, promises— in short, uses every possible means of 
persuasion— to win back the people to Jehovah. Various arrange- 
ments of the material have been made. The following (after 
George Adam Smith) may be helpful: 



HOSEA, THE PROPHET OF LOVE 

A People in Decay 
I. Morally (iv.-vii. 7). 

iv. God's charge against the people. 
v. Judgment of (a) Priests, (b) People, (c) Princes, 
vi. Israel's insincere repentance rebuked. 
1-7. Moral degradation and anarchy. 



83 



vn. 



II. Politically (vii. 7 to x.). 

vii. 8 to viii. 3. Confusion of the nation. 

viii. 4-13. Artificial kings and artificial gods. 

viii. 14 to ix. Exile the punishment of apostasy. 

x. Such punishment immanent. 

xi. The fatherhood and humanity of God. 

xii., xiii. A final argument. 

xiv. The blessed prospect. 



QUESTIONS 

1. What is the place of Hosea among the prophets? 

2. Who was Hosea, and to whom did he prophesy? 

3. What was the national situation in Hosea's day? 

4. What was Hosea's preparation for his work? 

5. What was Hosea's message? 

6. Why is Hosea called the evangelical prophet? 

7. How may we classify the material in ch. iv.-xiv.? 



LESSON XXI 
Isaiah, the Prophet of Faith 

(Isaiah i.-xxxix.) 

The prophecy of Isaiah is one of the longest books in the Bible. 
It covers so wide a scope that it will be best for our purpose to 
divide it. We consider in this lesson chapters i.-xxxix. 

i The Man. All that is really known of Isaiah is stated in the 
book which bears his name. He was the son of Amoz Neither 
the year of his birth nor the year of his death is recorded. The 
superscription of the book locates his prophetic career in the days 
of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, or from 
740 B. C. until early in the seventh century. He was thus one of 
the earliest of the writing prophets, contemporary with Amos, 
Hosea and Micah. He was married and had two children, whom 
he gave the symbolic names, "A-remnant-shall-remain" and "Swift- 
booty-speedy-prey." There is a tradition that he was a first cousin 
of Kin- Uzziah. There is another tradition that his daughter 
married* King Manasseh, and that in the reign of that king Isaiah 
suffered martyrdom. These traditions probably indicate Isaiahs 
relation with the royal house. 

2 Isaiah's Times. Isaiah lived in the most critical period of 
Judah's history. Beginning life in the midst of the comparative 
wealth and luxury of the days of Uzziah, he witnessed four great 
crises in his nation's history: 

(1) The Syro-Ephraimitic invasion, 734-2 B. C. 

(2) The capture and downfall of the northern kingdom, 722-1 

B. C. 

(3) The siege of Ashdod, 711 B. C. 

(4) The siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib, 701 B. C. 

About these four crises most of Isaiah's prophecies can be 
assembled. Four different kings reigned in Assyria contemporary 
with Isaiah: Tiglath-Pileser III. (745-27), Shalmaneser V. (727-22), 
Sargon II. (722-05), Sennacherib (705-681), all monarchs of great 

(84) 



ISAIAH, THE PROPHET OF FAITH 85 

ability, who carried victorious campaigns along the eastern coast 
of the Mediterranean. 

3. Isaiah's Call. Isaiah's description of his call in chapter vi. is 
one of the most impressive passages in the Old Testament. The 
prophet, apparently while worshiping in the temple, saw Jehovah 
in His heavenly sanctuary "sitting upon a throne, high and lifted 
up." He appeared in the form of a great oriental potentate. It 
was the year in which King Uzziah died. Uzziah had been the 
beauideal of the youthful Isaiah. But Uzziah had gone into the 
temple and attempted with his own hands to burn incense. In 
consequence he had been stricken with leprosy and had died. Going 
into the temple in his sorrow Isaiah beheld the sweeping robes of 
a great potentate, and behold! it was Jehovah on His throne, sur- 
rounded by His angelic courtiers. The majesty and holiness of 
Jehovah overawed him and caused him to cry out with a confession 
of his sinfulness. He received the assurance of the divine forgive- 
ness, and then, as he heard the voice of Jehovah saying, "Whom 
shall I send, and who will go for us?" he promptly replied, "Here 
am I; send me." Notice that we have in this chapter: (a) A 
vision of God (1-4); (b) a vision of sin (5); (c) a vision of 
grace (6, 7) ; (d) a commission (8-13). 

4. Isaiah's Prophecies. Isaiah is the most literary of the 
prophets, strength and beauty of imagery marking his style. The 
prophecies of i.-xxxix. naturally divide themselves into the follow- 
ing classes : 

(1) i.-xii. (except vi.). A group of oracles addressed to Judah 
and Jerusalem in the reign of Jotham and Ahaz, reflecting a state 
of affairs in the southern kingdom similar to that in Israel reflected 
by Amos and Hosea. 

(2) xiii.-xxii. Prophecies addressed mainly against heathen 

nations. 

(3) xxiv.-xxvii. Pictures of the world-judgment and the final 

Messianic salvation. 

(4) xxviii.-xxxv. Later prophecies, mainly in the reign of Heze- 

kiah. 

In this material four great prophetic doctrines are found : 
(1) The Message of Doom, or the Day of Jehovah. This is not 
unlike the Christian doctrine of the Last Judgment. The Day of 
Jehovah is primarily a day of wrath (ii.). The present order of 
the world is to be changed. This will be marked by a miraculous 
change in nature and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (xi., xxxii.). 



86 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

The mountain of Jehovah's house is to be established on the top 
of the mountains and all nations shall flow unto it. 

(2) The Stability of Zion (xxviii. 16 f. ; xxxiii. 20 f.; xxxiv. 

8 f.). 

(3) The Doctrine of the Remnant. Judah shall be visited with 
judgment, but a remnant shall be saved (i. 9; vi. 13; xvi. 4). This 
remnant is to be the basis of the ideal kingdom of the future. 

(4) Messianic Prophecies. The chief of these are: 

(a) ii. 2-4. A picture of redemption. 

(b) iv. 2-6. The branch of Jehovah. 

(c) vii. 14 f. An address in which Isaiah tries to put courage 
into the heart of Ahaz as he trembles at the coming of Pekah and 
Rezin, in the course of which he gives the king the memorable 
sign of the virgin who shall bear a Son and shall call His name 

Immanuel. 

(d) ix. 1-7. The announcement of the purpose of Jehovah to 
establish His kingdom of peace by means of a scion of the house 
of David who shall bear the fourfold name, Wonderful Counsellor, 
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

(e) xi. 1 f. The peaceful reign of this scion of the house of 
David. 

5. Isaiah's Dominating Principle. As the dominating principle 
of Amos had been righteousness, and of Hosea fidelity, so the 
keynote of Isaiah's prophecies is faith. In the various political 
crises in which he figured, his appeal to the people of Judah was 
to trust in Jehovah and not in Assyria or Egypt. What he said to 
King Ahaz, trembling before the kings of Israel and Syria, may 
be taken as his general message to the nation: "If ye will not be- 
lieve, surely ye shall not be established" (vii. 9, cf. xxviii. 16, xxx. 
15). He believed that the one controlling force in the world was 
spiritual, and against this background his prophecies of Doom, of 
Zion, of the Remnant, and of the Messiah stood forth. 



QUESTIONS 

1. Who was Tsaiah? 

2. What was the scene of his public ministry? 

3. At what period did he prophesy? 

4. Give a description of Isaiah's call? 



ISAIAH, THE PROPHET OF FAITH 87 

5. What is Isaiah's place among the writing prophets? 

6. How are his prophecies (i.-xxxix.) divided? 

7. What four great prophetic doctrines are here given? 

8. What is the dominating principle of Isaiah's prophecies? 



LESSON XXII 
Isaiah, the Prophet of Consolation 

(Isaiah xl.-lxvi.) 

1. The Situation. The scene of Isaiah xl.-lxvi. is different from 
that of i.-xxxix. The people of Israel are no longer in their own 
land: Jehovah's wife is divorced from him and her children are 
sold into slavery (xliii. 5, 6). Jerusalem is destroyed and the 
cities of Judah laid waste (xliv. 26). The dominant world-power 
is not Assyria, but Babylon. And Babylon is doomed (xlvi. I, 2; 
xlvii). The proud oppressor is about to be humbled. A new world- 
conqueror has appeared on the scene: "Thus saith Jehovah to his 
anointed, to Cyrus" (xlv. 1). He has already subdued many 
nations and is about to perform his pleasure upon Babylon herself 
(xlviii. 14). The Jewish exiles are about to go free. They will be 
sent back to rebuild Jerusalem and restore the temple. Jehovah 
is about to manifest Himself as Redeemer. 

2. The Author. These circumstances have led modern critical 
students of the Old Testament to hold that Isaiah, the son of Amoz, 
was not the author of this section of the prophecy bearing the name 
of Isaiah. If he were, they say, the whole historical situation 
pictured is proleptical and not real. The oracles themselves have no 
title attributing them to Isaiah. If an Isaiah wrote them, it must 
have been a Second or Deutero-Isaiah who lived in the time of the 
captivity. This is plausible, but it is singular that Jewish and 
Christian tradition could be so mistaken as to assign them to the 
great prophet of Jerusalem. On the other hand, the exile was so 
real to Isaiah, the son of Amoz, that he seemed to live in it (cf. 
v. 5, 6; x. 21; xxxii. 13 ff.). The mention of Cyrus by name 150 
years before his time is not more remarkable than the prediction of 
the captivity and its exact duration (Jer. xxv. 11, 12) or the birth- 
place of the Messiah 700 years before the event (Micah v. 2). 
The two parts of the book have much in common in spirit and style. 
The same designation of Jehovah, "the Holy One of Israel," pre- 
dominates. The vocabulary of both is Palestinian. While some 

(88) 



ISAIAH, THE PROPHET OF CONSOLATION 89 

passages seem to indicate that the author was in Babylon, as many 
others would indicate the opposite (cf. li. 5 and lii. 11). The 
message of both parts is redemption. 

3. The Message. Whether there be one or two Isaiahs, makes 
no difference in interpretation. We have a series of prophecies 
addressed to the exiles in Babylon. This half of the prophecy is 
sometimes called the Book of Consolations. The following classi- 
fication of the material will be found helpful in the study of these 
chapters : 

1. jehovah's deliverance 

Vi) Four herald voices bringing out the contrast between God 
and man, and between God and idols (xl.). 

(2) Jehovah's assurance of help, and a psalm of praise (xli., 
xlii., 10 ff.). 

(3) Jehovah the only Saviour (xliii.-xlviii) : 

a. His omnipotence and urgency (xliii.). 

b. His superiority to idols (xliv.). 

c. His uncompromising righteousness, manifesting itself in every 
chapter. 

d. His appeal to history— Cyrus, Babylon (xlv.-xlviii.). 

II. jehovah's deliverer 

(1) One God, one people (xli. 8-20; xlii.-xlvii.). 

(2) The servant of Jehovah (xli. 8-20; xlii. 1-7, 18 ff. ; xliii. 
5-10; xlix. 1-9; 1. 4-11; lii. 13 to liii.). 

(3) The service of God and man (xlii. 1-7). 

(4) Prophet and martyr (xlix. 1-9; 1. 4-1 0- 

(5) The suffering servant (lii. 13 to liii.). 

Nowhere else in the Old Testament have we such an exalted 
religious ideal as in the Suffering Servant; it is the high-water 
mark of prophecy. These oracles, spoken first of the entire nation, 
then of an individual, then of one who is repulsive for his suffer- 
ings for others, form the grandest prophetic conception in the 
Scriptures. First comes the personification of the nation as a 
servant; then, as the prophet sees that the nation will fail as the 
servant of Jehovah, the personal servant, who must give his back 
to the smiters, looms up; then the disclosure that the servant's 
sufferings were not for himself, but that "he bore the sins of many," 
dawns upon the prophet; and finally, the exalted servant (lv. 5) — 
constituting the largest Messianic picture in the Old Testament. 



90 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

III. THE RESTORATION 

(i) On the threshold (liv.-lvi. 8). 

(2) The rebirth of a nation (lvi. 9 to lix.). 

(3) Salvation in sight (lx.-lxiii. 7). 

(4) A last intercession (lxiii. 8 to lxvi.). 

As the keynote of the first part of Isaiah is faith, that of the 
second part is hope. The first words are, ''Comfort ye, comfort 
ye, my people" (xl. 1). It is Jehovah's nature to help men when 
they seek His aid: "Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be 
not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I 
will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my 
righteousness" (xli. 10). Not even their sins need discourage the 
people of Israel, for, says Jehovah, "I have blotted out, as a thick 
cloud, thy transgressions . . . and I will not remember thy sins" 
(xliv. 22; xliii. 25). The message of hope was first of a return 
from exile, a deliverance which would exceed the marvels of the 
exodus from Egypt (xliii. 16-21). Everywhere nature will reflect 
the joys of God's people (xli. 18, 19; xliii. 19). Palestine will be 
transfigured as an Eden (li. 3), and Zion, surprised at the numbers 
of her children, will ask, "Who hath begotten these?" (xlix. 21). 
All evil is to be removed; there is to be no more violence or de- 
struction in the land (Ix. 18) ; sorrow and sighing are to flee away, 
and the presence of Jehovah is to be enjoyed in all its fullness. 
It is an ideal picture. The message of hope is addressed first to 
Israel, but the blessings of the new age are not to be confined to 
Israel. The ends of the earth are to share in them (xlv. 22). It is 
the prophetic picture of the redemption of humanity, and hence 
Isaiah has also been called the Prophet of Universalism. 



QUESTIONS 

1. What is the local setting of Isaiah xl.-lxvi.? 

2. Were there two Isaiahs? 

3. What is Isaiah xl.-lxvi. sometimes called? 

4. Give an analysis of the contents. 

5. What is the significance of the "servant" passages? 

6. What is the keynote of the prophecies in ch. xl.-lxvi.? 

7. Why is Isaiah sometimes called the Prophet of Universalism? 



LESSON XXIII 
Jeremiah, the Prophet of the Inner Life 

(Jeremiah) 

The next of the great prophets in order is Jeremiah, who has 
been called "the prophet of personal piety." Up to this point the 
writing prophets have been concerned primarily with the principles 
of religion as they applied to society and the nation. Jeremiah 
first gave religion a personal note. While he continued to address 
the nation as such, he, as one has put it, "first discovered the soul 
and its significance for religion." 

i. The Man. Jeremiah was of a priestly family, whose home 
was Anathoth, three miles north of Jerusalem. The prophetic call 
came to him in 626 B. C, the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah. 
He was a young man then, for he protested that he was but "a 
child" (i. 6). His response to the divine call was very different 
from Isaiah's, but Isaiah was no doubt an older man, while Jere- 
miah was less self-reliant and confident of his powers. "There 
are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit." Jeremiah was "the 
weeping prophet," sensitive and sympathetic, realizing in his own 
personal life and experience the woe of his people. But he is not 
to be thought of as a weakling. "As man he melts in tears and 
pines away in sympathy; as the bearer of God's word he is firm 
and hard like pillar and wall, on which the storm of a nation's 
wrath breaks in vain." — Orelli. 

2. The Times. Jeremiah lived through the last days of the 
kingdom of Judah and the fall of Jerusalem. The chief events 
during his ministry were : 

(1) The discovery of the book of the law and the reformation 
which followed it, 621 B. C. 

(2) The taking of Nineveh by the Scythians, 606 B. C. 

(3) The defeat of Pharaoh-Necho at Carchemish, 604 B. C. 

(4) The first siege of Jerusalem and deportation of inhabitants 
by Nebuchadnezzar, 597 B. C. 

(5) The final siege and capture of Jerusalem, 586 B. C. 

(91) 



92 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

The kings of Judah under whom Jeremiah's prophetic activity 
occurred were: 

(i) Josiah, 639-609 B. C. (2) Jehoiakim, 609-597 B. C. (3) 
Zedekiah, 597-586 B. C. Under Josiah Judah enjoyed practical free- 
dom, though under the suzerainty of Assyria. Under Jehoiakim she 
was subject to (a) Egypt until 604, and (b) Babylon subsequently. 
Under Zedekiah she was a servile vassal to Babylon. 

3. Jeremiah's Ministry. Jeremiah's ministry may be divided 
into three periods corresponding to the reigns of the three 
monarchs mentioned. 

(1) Under Josiah Judah enjoyed comparative quiet, but Jeremiah 
had a vision of the coming of the dreaded Scythians (ii.-vi.), who 
took Nineveh. On this he based one of the strongest pleas for 
reformation to be found in the prophets. Concerning Jeremiah's 
relation to the reform of Josiah consequent upon the discovery 
of the law, 621 B. C, some take their cue from vii. 21-23 and viii. 8, 
and think that he had little confidence in the depth or nature of it ; 
others find in xi. 14 evidence of an itinerant mission throughout 
Judah in support of the reformation. It would seem impossible 
that he should not sympathize with such a program and actively 
support it; although, as a largely external reformation, it may have 
led to an almost superstitious trust in the temple (vii. 4, 11, etc.), 
which did not mark a real return to Jehovah. 

(2) Under Jehoiakim Jeremiah experienced rough treatment. 
He was in constant peril because of his oracles (xviii. 18; xx. 10), 
for he lifted up his voice against Zedekiah's alliance with Egypt. 
There was a false confidence in the temple expressed by the royal 
party which Jeremiah condemned, and for his words he was im- 
prisoned (xx. 1). The king expressed his contempt of Jeremiah 
by destroying the roll of his prophecies (xxxvi.). 

(3) The third period of Jeremiah's ministry fell in the reign of 
Zedekiah. The best part of the nation had now been carried into 
captivity (xxiv.). To the exiles Jeremiah wrote a letter counseling 
patience (xxvii.). To those still remaining in Jerusalem he coun- 
seled submission to Babylon. This brought him into conflict with 
the false prophets (xxviii.) and he was imprisoned. After the fall 
of Jerusalem he cast in his lot with Gedaliah, the Babylonian vice- 
roy, at Mizpeh, where he continued to live until the governor was 
assassinated. After this he was carried into Egypt, and there, ac- 
cording to tradition, he met a martyr's death. His tomb is shown 
at Alexandria. 



JEREMIAH, THE PROPHET OF THE INNER LIFE 



93 



4. The Book of Jeremiah. The book of Jeremiah is different 
from other prophetic writings in being a combination of history, 
biography and prophecy. Since the first roll of his prophecies was 
burned, chapters i.-xxxvi. must be a second edition. The following 
analysis classifies the materials: 

(1) i. The prophet's call. 

(2) ii.-xxiv. Prophecies against Judah. 

(3) xxv.-xxix. Historical. 

(4) xxx.-xxxiii. Messianic. 

(5) xxxiv.-xlv. A series of separate speeches. 

(6) xlvi.-xlix. Prophecies against foreign nations. 

(7) l.-li. Prophecy against Babylon. 

(8) Hi. An account of the capture of Jerusalem. 

5. Jeremiah's Place Among the Prophets. Judged by ordinary 
standards Jeremiah might be called, as in fact he has been called, 
"the prophet of failure." His commission at the outset was "to 
pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow" (i. 10). 
The message of doom is the dominant note. But these dismal mes- 
sages are set over against what man ought to be. He is made for 
God. What instinct is to the birds that religion is to man (viii. 7). 
That Israel should forget Jehovah seemed to him contrary to the 
order of nature (ii. 32; xviii. 14 f.)- The destruction of Jerusalem 
was not the last word of Jeremiah. Jehovah had a new covenant 
in store for His people (xxxi. 31-34). The prophet was also "to 
build and to plant." Religion is no longer to be dependent on out- 
ward institutions ; the law is to be inwardly and individually appro- 
priated (xxxi. 33). Jeremiah was, therefore, the prophet of the 
inner life. And in the course of time it came to be seen that, con- 
sidered from the standpoint of pure religion, he was the greatest 
among the prophets. Soon his prophecy was given the first place 
among the prophets in the Hebrew canon. When, in the days of 
Christ, men were looking for Elijah to come, some said of Jesus 
that He was Jeremiah. He is "likest Christ" of all the Old Testa- 
ment prophets. 



94 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

QUESTIONS 
i. Who was Jeremiah? 

2. What kind of a man was he? 

3. What was the situation in judah in his day? 

4. What were the chief external events in the time of his min- 
istry? 

5. What kings of Judah were his contemporaries? 

6. What experiences did Jeremiah have under each? 

7. Give an analysis of the book of Jeremiah. 

8. What is Jeremiah's place among the prophets? 



LESSON XXIV 

EzEKIEL, THE PROPHET OF ESTABLISHED RELIGION 

(Ezekiel) 

Ezekie! was in a pre-eminent sense the prophet of the captivity. 
He interpreted it with the same statesmanlike grasp with which 
Isaiah interpreted the eighth century B. C. 

i. The Man. Ezekiel was the son of Buzi, of whom nothing 
further is known. Ezekiel is styled "the priest," and in all proba- 
bility was of the family of Zadok. He had the tastes and interests 
of a priest. He was interested in the temple and its ritual, and he 
places ritual offences side by side with moral offences (xxii. 8-12). 
The climax of his prophecy is reached in an ideal plan for the 
temple and the temple worship. It was his conviction that the 
best way to promote the interests of true religion was to conserve 
and purify temple worship. He is the champion of established re- 
ligion. To this task he brought a highly sensitive personality. He 
was peculiarly the prophet of visions, and his visions took the 
form of trances (iii. IS, 26; xxiv. 25-27; xxxiii. 21 f.). In the 
august presence of Deity he was but a "son of man," a phrase that 
occurs one hundred and sixteen times in his prophecy. 

2. The Situation. Ezekiel was one of the first deportation car- 
ried to Babylon, under Jehoiachin, in the year 597 B. C. He began 
to preach in 592, or one year after Jeremiah had reliquished 
the role of prophet. He states that it was "in the thirtieth year." 
If this refers to his age, he was a young man when taken captive. 
With a community of other exiles he settled at Tel-Abib, by the 
river Chebar, in the land of the Chaldeans. The community seems 
to have had a large degree of autonomy. The exiles possessed 
houses (iii. 24; xxxiii. 30), and there is no allusion to persecution. 
We know from Jeremiah xxix. that they were the elite of the 
nation, and by some means they kept in touch with Jerusalem, in 
whose welfare they were passionately interested. Ezekiel was mar- 
ried and occupied his own house (iii. 24; xxiv. 18), where he re- 
ceived the elders of the nation (viii. 1; xiv. 1; xx. 1). His wife 
died suddenly just before the fall of Jerusalem, and his failure to 

(95) 



96 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

observe the usual mourning he used as a sign to Judah (xxiv. 
15 f.). The fall of Jerusalem wrought a change in the attitude of 
the people toward him and in the content of his message. Prior to 
this time there was suspicion and irritation on the part of the 
people, who believed they were being punished for the sins of their 
fathers, notwithstanding Ezekiel's insistence on individual respon- 
sibility (xviii.). After the fall of Jerusalem Ezekiel's message 
was predominantly one of consolation, and the people, disillusioned, 
came to trust him. How long this part of Ezekiel's ministry con- 
tinued we do not know. The last date mentioned in his book is 
570 B. C. It has been thought that he died shortly after this. 

3. Ezekiel's Prophecies. The book of Ezekiel is to be divided, 
broadly, into two parts: (1) Chapters i.-xxiv. and (2) chapters 
xxxiii.-xlviii. Chapters xxv.-xxxii., the prophecies against foreign 
nations, form a connecting link, which may be taken either as a 
supplement to the preceding or as an introduction to the following 
chapters. The first half of the book is occupied with the doom of 
Jerusalem and Judah, the second half with the restoration. The 
book begins with an ecstatic vision in which the prophet receives 
his call to the "rebellious" exiles (i.-iii.). At once he plunges into 
his unwelcome message of judgment and doom, which is clothed 
in a variety of imagery. The dominant note here is that from the 
very day of her election Judah had been unfaithful, giving herself 
over to idolatry, immorality and the profanation of the institutions 
of Jehovah. The devouring fire shall consume and the sharp sword 
of Nebuchadnezzar will be drawn (xx.-xxiii.). The besieged city is 
at length captured, and, like the prophet's wife, perishes unmourned 
(xxiv.). The ministry of judgment being now over, the prophet 
can address himself to the more congenial task of reconstruction. 
In order to this, the hostile foreign nations must be removed; 
hence the seven oracles of xxv.-xxxii. With the removal of the 
nation's enemies the prophet begins his constructive work, which 
is given in a threefold idealistic picture of the future: (1) A vision 
of Jehovah's care for His flock and the power of His Spirit (xxxiii.- 
xxxvii.) ; (2) Israel's supremacy over symbolical foes, after the 
Messianic era has been introduced (xxxviii., xxxix.) ; and (3) a re- 
stored nation with the temple in the midst (xl.-xlviii.). 

4. Ezekiel's Mission. Ezekiel has been called "the father of 
Judaism." This is true in the sense that he was the forerunner 
of Ezra and Nehemiah. He was pre-eminently the churchman 
among the Old Testament prophets. After the necessary de- 



EZEKIEL, THE PROPHET OF ESTABLISHED RELIGION 97 

structive work of purification had been done he saw the place of 
the temple as a rallying point in the building up of a new nation 
and idealized it. As one has said, "Ritual in and of itself is no 
necessary part of genuine religion," but, on the other hand, "there 
are many non-essential things in religion that are necessary to 
make religion effective in the world." In the course of its history 
the religion of Israel faced two great crises: the destruction of 
Jerusalem and the conquests of Alexander the Great. In the first, 
when it would have been natural for Israel to have reasoned that 
her God had forsaken her, Ezekiel moralized and universalized the 
conception of Jehovah, and by offering a positive program saved 
the remnant of the nation from apostasy. In the second, when 
every other religion in southwestern Asia was yielding to Greek 
naturalism, the legalism of Ezekiel held Israel fast. "What saved 
Israel's religion from falling a prey to Greek thought and arms 
was the fact that it had been crystalized into law, and so had been 
made 'hard as steel and strong as iron.' " 



QUESTIONS 

i. Who was Ezekiel? What was his personality? 

2. What was the scene of his prophetic work? 

3. What was the condition of the exiles? 

4. What was Ezekiel's relation to them? 

5. Give an analysis of the book of Ezekiel. 

6. What was the mission of Ezekiel? 

7 



LESSON XXV 
The Remaining Prophets 

The remaining prophets can be considered but briefly. We shall 
consider them as far as possible in chronological order. 

Micah, whose date is about 724 B. C, was a younger contem- 
porary of Isaiah, and belongs to the Assyrian period. Like Amos, 
he was a plain countryman from the uplands of Judah. Jeremiah 
(xxvi. 17 ff.) tells us that the reformation of Hezekiah was due 
to the preaching of Micah. Micah denounces with fiery earnestness 
the sins of the capital cities, Samaria, in the northern kingdom, and 
Jerusalem, in the southern. Micah is a prophet of judgment; but 
his Messianic prophecies are of great value, especially v. 2, 3. 
Micah vi. 8 is one of the great texts of the Old Testament. 

Zephaniah. Hezekiah was succeeded on the throne of Judah by 
Manasseh, whose long reign of fifty-five years is one of the darkest 
chapters in the history of that kingdom. In 642 B. C. the Scythians 
(Jer. iv.-vi; Ez. xxxviii.) swept over Asia. Zephaniah was a prince 
of the royal house, and during the minority of Josiah he delivered 
his famous prophecy of the Dies ires. The thunders of the last 
judgment are heard; but the prophecy ends with Messianic con- 
solation. 

Nahum. The prophecy of Nahum has for its sole object the 
destruction of Nineveh. It was written about 625 B. C, when the 
Medes made their first attack upon Nineveh. 

Habakkuk. The book of Habakkuk also belongs to this series. 
The theme is the destruction of Nineveh. Assyria, which had 
been used of Jehovah for the judgment of Israel, was itself to be 
judged. Habakkuk's description of the Assyrian as a robber is 
classic (i. 13-17). "Habakkuk has a marked individuality both in 
style and tone; and one expression he employs (ii. 4) has become 
historical from the way it was adopted by St. Paul (Gal. iii. 11) 
and by Luther, in the great question of justification by faith."— 
Robertson. 

Daniel. The scene shifts to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar died in 

(98) 



THE REMAINING PROPHETS 99 

561 B. C. Destiny denied him a worthy son. The Chaldean 
dynasty came to an end, and the priests of Babylon placed Naboni- 
dus, "a pious and peaceful archaeologist," on the throne. He left the 
military direction of his kingdom to his general, Belshazzar. The 
new power under which Babylon was to crumble was Cyrus the 
Persian. In 539, Gobryus, the Persian general and satrap of 
Assyria, met and defeated the Babylonians, and Belshazzar was 
slain. Nabonidus fled to the castle of Borsippa, and Gobryus entered 
Babylon without a struggle. Babylon fell November 3d, 538. Later 
Cyrus entered the city in triumph and was hailed as deliverer. 
Gobryus was the "Darius the Mede" of the book of Daniei. One 
of the captives of Jerusalem in the third year of Jehoiakim was 
Daniel, who came to high office under Cyrus. The facts of Daniel's 
ministry occupy chapters i.-vi., in which we have also Nebuchad- 
nezzar's dream and the interpretation of it, which leads to Daniel's 
being cast into the den of lions. The second part of his prophecy 
gives an account of the four visions seen by Daniel, viz.: (a) 
That of the four beasts coming up from the sea (vii.) — the king- 
doms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Alexander the Great and Rome; 
(b) that of the ram overcome by the he-goat (viii.) — the Medo- 
Persian empire overthrown by Alexander the Great; (c) the 
seventy years of Jeremiah (ix.) ; (d) the revelations of the angel. 

Haggai. Prophecy slumbered until the year 520 B. C. Fifty 
thousand Israelites had returned to Jerusalem under Sheshbazzar 
by the permission of Cyrus, as Isaiah had predicted (xliv. 28). The 
year 520 seems to have brought famine and hunger in the land. 
At this crisis the venerable Haggai appeared and urged Zerubbabel 
to undertake the building of the temple. Haggai (i. 15) tells us that 
the work was begun on the 24th of December, in the second year of 
Darius, or 520 B. C. 

Zechariah. Contemporary with Haggai appeared Zechariah. His 
book has the same subject, the rebuilding of the temple. In a 
series of visions interpreted by an angel Zechariah brings encour- 
agement to Zerubbabel, the prince, and to Joshua, the priest. The 
keynote of Zechariah's prophecy is, "Not by might, nor by power, 
but by my spirit, saith Jehovah" (iv. 6). Zechariah also predicted 
the coming of Jehovah's servant, the Branch. Predictions of the 
coming of the king of Zion (viii. 9) had fulfillment in the Palm 
Sunday entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem. 

Malachi. The new temple was completed in March, 515 B. C. 
It did not compare in splendor with the temple of Solomon, and 



100 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

the life of the returned exiles had been a struggle. The temple 
worship had become half-hearted. Even the priests were guilty of 
presenting inferior offerings. Malachi's prophecy is a challenge to 
men perplexed and disappointed, presenting God's side of the situa- 
tion and predicting the coming of One who will purify His temple. 
Malachi abounds in Messianic predictions (iii. i; iv. I, 2). 

There are three prophets whose dates cannot be certainly as- 
signed. 

Joel, B. C. Joel was a prophet of Judah, and his home 

was in Jerusalem, or its vicinity. There is no clue to his date in the 
book or in the Bible or in external literature. He lived and prophe- 
sied either in the period before Assyria had appeared as a menac- 
ing cloud, or at a very late time when even the memory of Baby- 
lonian cruelty had been forgotten. From a comparison of Joel iii. 
16 with Amos i. 2 it would seem as if he antedated Amos. His 
prophecy was occasioned by a severe visitation of drought and ^lo- 
custs, which led him to deliver two highly pictorial discourses (i., ii.), 
calling for repentance. The plague is removed (ii. 18-27) ; and this 
leads to the prediction that "afterward" the Spirit will be poured 
out on all flesh, and with signs in heaven and on earth shall come 
the great and terrible "day of the Lord." 

Obadiah, B. C., in twenty-one verses— the shortest of all 

the prophetic books— predicts the annihilation of Edom, which is 
contrasted with the restoration of "the house of Jacob," who are 
to possess Edom and Philistia and enjoy the promises of the Mes- 
siah. 

j ona h, B. C, the son of Amittai (i. 1) is identical with the 

prophet described in 2 Kings xiv. 25. He lived in the reign of Jero- 
boam II. The book is a narrative of the story of Jonah, which is 
familiar. In some respects it is the greatest book of the Old Testa- 
ment, the writer's object being to proclaim the universal character 
of God's love, and to show that it was not limited to Israel alone, but 
extended even to the heathen, if they were willing to abandon their 
evil courses and turn in penitence to Him. 



QUESTIONS 

1. Give the date and mission of Micah? 

2. What was the occasion of Zephaniah's prophecy? 

3. What is the theme of Habakkuk's prophecy? 



THE REMAINING PROPHETS 101 

4. For what special text is it noted? 

5. What are the contents of the book of Daniel? 

6. At what time did Haggai prophesy, and what was his message? 

7. What was the mission of Zechariah? 

8. What was the message of Malachi to his contemporaries? 

9. What was the occasion of Joel's prophecy? His message? 

10. What is the burden of Obadiah's prophecy? 

11. What is the main teaching of the book of Jonah? 



LESSON XXVI 

The Poetry of the Bible 

i. The Poetical Sections. Much more of the Bible is poetry than 
one would learn from the Authorized Version. The printing of the 
Authorized Version does not show what is poetry and what is not. 
One of the advantages of the Revised Version is that this is indi- 
cated by the printing. Most of the poetry of the Bible is found in 
the Old Testament. The poetical books, as we have learned, are 
Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs, though 
Lamentations is to be included here and much of the Prophets, and, 
perhaps, Ruth and Esther. Besides these there are occasional songs 
which are introduced in the historical books: 

The Song of the Sword (Lamech) Gen. iv. 23, 24. 

The Blessing of Jacob Gen. xlix. 1-27. 

The Song of Moses Ex. xv. 1-18. 

The Song of the Well Num. xxi. 17, 18. 

The Song of the War-Flame Num. xxi. 27-30. 

The Farewell Song of Moses Deut. xxxii. 1-43. 

The Song of Deborah Judges v. 

The Song of Hannah 1 Sam. ii. 10. 

The Song of the Bow (Saul and Jonathan) ...2 Sam. i. 17-27. 
The Last Words of David 2 Sam. xxiii. 1-3. 

The Prophets abound in poetry ; indeed, so large is the prophetic 
element that some scholars have suggested that the original prophetic 
utterances were all in the form of poetry. There is comparatively lit- 
tle poetry in the New Testament. The Magnificat of Mary (Luke i. 
46-55), the prophecy of Zacharias (Luke i. 68-77), the Beatitudes 
(Matt. v. 3-12) and probably some passages in Revelation are the 
only original poetry in the New Testament. 

2. Form and Kinds of Biblical Poetry. The poetry of the Bible 
is not in the form of rhyme or meter— though something approach- 
ing rhyme is sometimes to be found at the end of lines— but in the 
form of parallelism. "After a statement has been made in the first 
line of the verse it is repeated, enlarged, or balanced by the state- 

(102) 



THE POETRY OF THE BIBLE 103 

ments of the remaining line or lines." The second member of the 
parallelism is a sort of echo of the first. This form of expression 
was peculiarly adapted to express the emotions ; and as poetry con- 
sists more in the sense than in the sound of words, Hebrew poetry 
loses less in translation than most poetry. 

The Hebrew mind was given to reflection and introspection, hence 
Hebrew poetry is almost entirely either lyric or gnomic. Lyric 
poetry is the delineation of emotion in song; gnomic poetry "con- 
sists of observations on human life and society, or generalizations 
respecting conduct and character." Of the former class are the 
Psalms ; of the latter, Proverbs. 

3. The Psalms. The Psalter was the hymn-book of the second 
temple. It is arranged in five books. Each book ends with a dox- 
ology, and Psalm cl. is the doxology for the entire collection. The 
Psalter is divided as follows : 

Book 1 Psalms i. to xli. 

Book 2 Psalms xlii. to lxxii. 

Book 3 Psalms lxxiii. to lxxxix. 

Book 4 Psalms xc. to cvi. 

Book 5 Psalms cvii. to cl. 

Of the 150 Psalms, 100 are assigned by inscriptions to authors as 
follows : David, the sons of Korah, Asaph, Solomon, Ethan, Moses. 
These inscriptions were not a part of the original text, though at- 
tached prior to the time of the Septuagint, and we cannot determine 
authorship from them; but they represent a very ancient tradition 
which is probably correct. 

Luther called the Psalter "a small Bible wherein all that stands in 
Scripture is fairly and briefly comprehended." It is a striking fact, 
of all the quotations which in the New Testament are made from 
the Old touching Christ and His kingdom nearly half are from the 
Psalter. 

4. The Wisdom Literature, (a) The book of Proverbs intro- 
duces us to the Wisdom literature of the Old Testament. The name 
"wisdom" was applied by the Hebrews to an acute kind of observa- 
tion and remark, a wise generalization on life. Though many of the 
proverbs of Solomon are religious, in the main they are maxims of 
worldly wisdom and ethics, having a practical aim. The book is 
divided into five parts : 

1. The Proverbs of Solomon in Praise of Wisdom. Chapters i. 

to ix. 



104 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

2. Sundry Proverbs of Solomon. Chapters x. to xxii. 16. 

3. Sundry Precepts and Warnings. Chapters xxii. 17 to xxiv. 34. 

4. Proverbs of Solomon copied out by Hezekiah. Chapters xxv. 

to xxix. 

5. The Oracle of Agur and of Lemuel. Chapters xxx. and xxxi. 

(&) The Book of Job also belongs to the Wisdom literature. The 
book takes its name from its principal character. The subject of the 
book is the most difficult question of human life, Why do the right- 
eous suffer? and its aim is "to controvert the theory, dominant at 
the time when it was written, that suffering is a sign of the Divine 
displeasure, and presupposes sin on the part of the sufferer." Prof. 
Delitzsch has well said : "The real content of the Book of Job is the 
mystery of the Cross : the Cross of Golgotha is the solution of the 
enigma of every cross ; and the Book of Job is a prophecy of this 
final solution." The book is divided thus: 

1. Prologue in prose Chapters i. and ii. 

2. First cycle of addresses Chapters iii. to xiv. 

3. Second cycle of addresses Chapters xv. to xxi. 

4. Third cycle of addresses Chapters xxii. to xxxi. 

5. Argument of Elihu Chapters xxxii. to xxxvii. 

6. Jehovah speaks Chapters xxxviii. to xli. 

7. Epilogue in prose Chapter xlii. 

5. The Rolls. The rolls are five short books which are publicly 
read in the synagogues at certain sacred seasons. 

(a) The Song of Songs is read at the Passover.. It is a love- 
song, which celebrates the love of man for woman and of woman 
for man. Allegorically it has been taken as a picture of the love of 
Jehovah for His people. 

(b) Ruth is read at Pentecost, and is a prose-poem conserving 
a precious link of history in the ancestry of Jesus Christ. 

(c) Lamentations is read on the 9th of Ab (June), the day on 
which Jerusalem was destroyed. It consists of five independent 
poems, all dealing with a common theme, viz. : the calamities which 
befell Judah and Jerusalem in consequence of the siege and capture 
of the city by the Chaldeans. 

(d) Ecclesiastes is read at the feast of Tabernacles. It may be 
taken as a soliloquy on the question, Is life worth living? 

(e) Esther is read at the feast of Purim. It gives the historic 
origin of that feast and suggests motives why it should be observed. 



THE POETRY OF THE BIBLE 105 

QUESTIONS 

1. What parts of the Bible are in poetry? 

2. Of what kinds is the poetry of the Bible? 

3. What is the Psalter? Divisions? Authors? 

4. What is the Wisdom literature of the Old Testament? 

5. What are the contents of the Book of Proverbs? 

6. What is the subject of the Book of Job? 
J. What are the Rolls ? When read ? 



LESSON XXVII 
The Gospels: Life of Christ 

(Books: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) 
I. THE GOSPELS 

1. Name and Place. At the head of the New Testament stand the 
four Gospels. This position has been fitly assigned to them, not be- 
cause they come first in point of time,* but because they contain a 
record of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, which forms the 
corner-stone of Christianity, it being essentially the religion of a 
great fact. The word Gospel is the English translation of a Greek 
word meaning "good tidings," a word originally applied to Christ's 
preaching (Matt. iv. 23; Mark i. 15), and that of the apostles (1 
Cor. ix. 16). Very early it came also to be applied to the books 
containing the facts of Christ's life, and by the middle of the second 
century these four memoirs held a pre-eminent place. 

2. Why Four Gospels? The question naturally suggests itself, 
Why four Gospels? The number is not without reason. These 
records were not needlessly multiplied. There was probably a 
common source, a written record of the events of Christ's life 
which was in the possession of the apostles, the result of some years 
of active preaching, from which all the writers drew in making their 
monographs. Their aim was to make Christ a living reality to a 
certain type of mind. Men differed then as now; what appeals to 
one does not appeal to another. It would have been little short of 
miraculous if one Gospel could have reached the heart of that day. 
But four did, and they continue to be adequate. The Gospel accord- 
ing to Mark is the earliest and reflects Peter's thought. It em- 
phasizes the strenuousness of the life and ministry of Christ, the 
side which would appeal most strongly to the Roman type of mind. 
The characteristic word is "straightway." It presents Jesus the 
Saviour in His power and activity. The Gospel according to 
Matthew, on the other hand, emphasizes primarily the kingdom of 

* The Epistles were written earlier, and that is the reason they are placed 
first in the Church lessons. 

(106) 



THE GOSPELS : LIFE OF CHRIST 107 

Christ, looks backward to Messianic prophecies and forward to 
Messianic triumph. It traces Christ's ancestry to Abraham, and it 
dwells upon the return of Christ for the judgment of the world. It 
appealed primarily to those who had been brought up amid Jewish 
influences. The Gospel according to Luke presents still another 
phase of Christ's life. It is the story of Jesus as "the loving Saviour 
of the world, the sympathetic friend of all classes and nationalities." 
Luke's genealogy of Jesus goes back to Adam. The hymns which 
were inspired by His nativity make continual reference to His influ- 
ence on all men. The Christ of Luke is "the Saviour for all man- 
kind, for the wideness of humanity — a world-wide Saviour" — a 
Gospel for the Greek type of mind. The Gospel according to John 
is still different. It was addressed to those already claiming to be 
Christians, a book of meditation and devotion. It deals with the 
hidden things of Christ's divine nature. It presents "the Saviour 
for the inner life, for our reflection, meditation and devotion." 

3. Authorship and Dates. Just when these four Gospels were 
written we do not know with certainty, nor is it important that we 
should. All scholars agree that Mark's Gospel was written first, 
probably at Rome, about 67 A. D. (Zahn). The same scholars who 
attribute the first Gospel to Matthew the apostle state that he wrote 
it first in Hebrew, or Aramaic. From the materials in this Logia 
of Matthew, as it is called, and Mark's Gospel, the Gospel of Mat- 
thew was written about 70 A. D. Luke, who, in addition to the 
foregoing material, had the benefit of Paul's memoranda, wrote his 
Gospel about 75 A. D. (Zahn). The influence of Paul is traced in 
such parts as the parables of the Lost Coin, the Lost Sheep, the 
Lost Son, and the Good Samaritan, and the stories of the woman 
who was a sinner, and the penitent thief. The Gospel of John, 
written somewhere between 80 and 90 A. D., supplements the other 
three in giving us the Judean ministry of Jesus, which the others 
omit, and many of His most illuminating discourses, together with 
the raising of Lazarus and a fuller account of the trial and the 
post-resurrection days of Jesus. This Gospel is an interpretation, 
enabling us to answer the question, What think ye of Christ? 

II. THE LIFE OF CHRIST 

I. Early Years. Jesus Christ came into the world under Caesar 
Augustus, the first Roman emperor, before the death of King Herod 
the Great, four years prior to the beginning of our Christian era.* 

* Our Christian era, which was introduced by the Roman abbot, Dionysius 



108 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

He was born of a Jewish virgin, Mary by name, of the line of David, 
in Bethlehem, in fulfillment of an ancient prophecy (Micah v. 2). 
The world was at peace, as was fitting at the advent of the Prince 
of Peace. Angels sang hymns of adoration which were heard by 
shepherds in the neighborhood keeping watch over their flocks (Luke 
ii. 8-14). Jesus was circumcised the eighth day (Luke ii. 21), in 
fulfillment of Jewish ritual, and His name was called "Jesus" the 
Greek form of Joshua, meaning Saviour, as the angel of the annun- 
ciation had directed Mary (Matt. i. 21). Sages of the East, di- 
rected by a remarkable conjunction of the planets, came to Jeru- 
salem, seeking Him, bringing Him gifts (Matt. ii. 1, 2, 11). He was 
rescued from the hand of Herod by being carried into Egypt (Matt, 
ii. 13-15). After Herod's death, He was brought back to Nazareth, 
where His childhood was spent (Matt. ii. 23). 

2. Youth. The youth of Jesus is veiled in mystery. The only 
reference to it in Scripture is Luke ii. 40, 52. His home was that of 
a workingman, as Joseph was a carpenter. Later He was known 
both as "the carpenter's son," and as Himself a carpenter. As a 
youth of twelve He went with Joseph and Mary to Jerusalem to 
the great Feast of the Passover (Luke ii. 41-50), after which He 
returned to Nazareth, and for eighteen years was subject to 
Joseph and Mary (Luke ii. 51). 

3. Manhood. At the age of thirty, after Messianic ordination by 
baptism (Matt. iii. 13-17), and Messianic probation in the wilder- 
ness (iv. 1-11), He entered upon His public ministry. That minis- 
try lasted only three years, and yet into those three years is con- 
densed "the deepest meaning of the history of religion." His life 
was limited to the little country of Palestine; only twice did He 
pass beyond it (Matt. ii. 13, xv. 21). He had no home, no earthly 
possessions, no friend among the mighty and the rich (Luke ix. 
58; Matt, xxvii. 35). A few devout women from time to time filled 

Exiguus, in the sixth century, puts the Nativity December 25th, 754 A. U. (from 
the founding of the city of Rome). Nearly all chronologers agree that this is 
wrong by at least four years, for the following reasons: (1) According to Matt. 
ii. 1, Jesus was born in the days of Herod the Great, who. according to 
Josephus, died 750 A. U., just before the Passover. (2) There was a remark- 
able conjunction of the planets Jupiter, Saturn and Mars in 748-750 A. U., 
bringing into prominence a new fixed star of great brilliancy, now generally 
accepted as the explanation of Matt. ii. 2. (3) "The fifteenth year of Tiberias" 
has been quite certainly fixed as 749 A. U. (4) The first census of Cyrenius 
(Quirinus), Luke ii. 2, has been placed in 750 A. U., it having been proved 
by scholars that Cyrenius (Quirinus) was twice governor of Palestine. 



THE GOSPELS : LIFE OF CHRIST 109 

His purse (Luke viii. 3), and this purse was in the hands of a 
thief and a traitor (John xii. 6). He associated with publicans and 
sinners to raise them to a higher and nobler life, and began His 
reformation among the lowly (Matt. ix. 12, 13). He chose twelve 
apostles for the Jews (Matt. x. 6) and seventy disciples for the 
Gentiles (Luke x. 1). He did not spare sin and vice, aiming His 
severest words at the self-righteous hypocrites who sat in Moses* 
seat (Matt, xxiii.). He foretold to His disciples His crucifixion, 
and promised to them in this life only the same baptism of blood 
(Mark viii. 31-33, x. 28-30). He went about in Palestine, often 
weary of travel, but never weary of His work of love (John iv. 6, 
34), doing good to the souls and bodies of men, speaking words of 
spirit and life, and working miracles of power and mercy (John vi. 
63; Matt. iv. 23, xiv. 14). At last, hated and persecuted by the 
Jewish hierarchy, betrayed into their hands by one of His own 
apostles (Matt. xxvi. 3, 14), rejected by the people (Matt, xxvii. 
21), but declared innocent by the representative of Roman law and 
justice (John xix. 6), He was crucified with malefactors (Matt, 
xxvii. 35, 38). The third day He rose from the grave (John xx. 1 ; 
Mark xvi. 6). He repeatedly appeared to His disciples, commis- 
sioned them to preach the gospel of the resurrection to every creat- 
ure (Matt, xxviii. 18-20), and ascended to the right hand of God 
in heaven (Mark xvi. 19). 



QUESTIONS 

1. What is the meaning of the word Gospel ? 

2. How many books bear this title? 

3. Why four Gospels? 

4. What characterizes the Gospel by Mark? 

5. What characterizes the Gospel by Matthew? 

6. What characterizes the Gospel by Luke? 

7. What characterizes the Gospel by John? 

8. When and under what circumstances was Jesus born? 

9. What do we know about His youth? 
10. What, about His manhood? 



LESSON XXVIII 
Gospel History: Christ's Ministry 

(Books: Matthew, Mark, I^uke, John) 

The way for Christ's public ministry was prepared by John the 
Baptist, who came in appearance like another Elijah (Matt. iii. 4), 
preaching repentance to his nation, and baptizing the penitents at 
the fords of the Jordan (Matt. iii. 6). Thither Jesus came and was 
baptized of John, "to fulfill all righteousness" (Matt. iii. 13-17), the 
Holy Spirit bearing witness that He was the Son of God. Then 
followed His threefold temptation in the desert of Judea (Matt. iv. 
1-11), the call of His first disciples (John i. 35-42), and His return 
to Galilee (John i. 43-51), where He showed His first sign of power 
(John ii. 1-11). 

The three years of Christ's ministry are usually designated as : (1) 
The Year of Obscurity; (2) the Year of Popularity; (3) The Year 
of Opposition. 

1. The Year of Obscurity, strange to say, was passed mainly in 
Judea, in the very shadow of the nation's capital (John i.-iv.). It 
began with Jesus' visit to Jerusalem for the Passover, when He ex- 
pelled the money-changers from the temple (John ii. 13-25). It 
includes Jesus' interview with Nicodemus, to whom He made the 
most significant statement the world has ever heard (John iii. 16). 
In this year, also, comes the interview with the woman of Samaria, 
to whom Jesus declared Himself the Messiah of God (John iv. 26), 
and through whom many Samaritans were brought to Him as disci- 
ples. The year closes with His return to Cana and His healing of 
the nobleman's son (John iv. 46-54). He had not yet begun to speak 
in parables. 

2. The Year of Popularity was spent in Galilee. After His return 
He settled at Capernaum, and devoted Himself exclusively to His 
ministry (Matt. iv. 13 ff.). This was a year of miracles. A great 
number were recorded, and there must have been a larger number 
that were not recorded (Mark i. 29-34). His ministry about the 
Lake of Galilee was marked by the Sermon on the Mount and 
many parables, following His choice of the Twelve as apostles 
(Matt. x. 2-4) whom He sent out on a missionary journey, which 

(HO) 



GOSPEL HISTORY: CHRIST'S MINISTRY 111 

was the beginning of their own work in His name (Matt. x.). In 
this year also began the serious opposition of the Pharisees, who 
were offended because He ate with publicans and sinners — to whom 
He made the great declaration of His mission (Matt. ix. 12, 13). 
This year closes with the feeding of the five thousand in the region 
east of Galilee (Mark vi. 41) and the notable discourse spoken to 
representatives of the same multitude in the synagogue at Caper- 
naum (John vi. 22-58), which was the occasion of Peter's first 
great confession (John vi. 69). 

3. The Year of Opposition. Scribes and Pharisees direct from 
Jerusalem now sought Him out with increasing hostility (Matt. xv. 
1), and Jesus could no longer trust Himself in Judea (John vii. 1). 
He therefore retired into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, returning 
through Decapolis and feeding four thousand in a mountain near 
the Sea of Galilee (Mark vii. 24, viii. 1-9). Crossing the Sea of 
Galilee to Dalmanutha (Mark viii. 10), He immediately encountered 
the opposition of the Pharisees again, so that He took ship and 
recrossed the lake (Mark viii. 13). He now took the disciples 
into the region of Csesarea Philippi, where He was transfigured 
and Peter made his great confession (Matt. xvii. 1-13; Mark ix. 
2-13; Luke ix. 28-36). He now openly spoke of His death and 
resurrection. He went to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, 
and, teaching boldly in the temple and declaring Himself the light 
of the world, the Jews sought to stone Him (John viii.). Out of 
these last colloquies with His enemies came some of His most 
precious words— the parables of the Good Samaritan, the Lost 
Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Prodigal Son. A third attempt of 
the Jews to stone Him drove Him into Perea, from whose seclusion 
He came only to raise Lazarus from the dead (John xi. 17-46). 

4. The Passion. The last Passover brings Jesus to the week 
of His passion, related in all the Gospels with remarkable fullness. 
"To the three years and more of His public ministry, the four evan- 
gelists give in all fifty-five chapters. But to these eight days they 
give thirty chapters."— (Schau filer.) This is most significant. The 
Passion begins with the Triumphal Entry (Mark xi. 8-1 1) and ends 
with the Crucifixion (Matt, xxvii. 38). The chief events between 
are the Last Supper (Luke xxii. 14-20), the Agony in the Garden 
(Luke xxii. 44), and the Trial (John xviii.). The culminating act 
of Jesus' ministry was His death, about which more is said in the 
New Testament than about all the service of His life. 

5. The Resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus is also told by all 



112 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

four evangelists (Matt, xxviii. 1-8; Mark xvi. 1-8; Luke xxiv. i-ii; 
John xx. i, 2). Eleven appearances to His disciples are recorded : 
(1) To Mary (John xx. 11-18) ; (2) to the women (Matt, xxviii. 
9) ; (3) to Peter (Luke xxiv. 34) ; (4) to the two disciples on the road 
to Emmaus (Luke xxiv. 13-33) ; (5) to the Eleven, Thomas being 
absent (John xx. 19-25) ; (6) to the Eleven, Thomas being present 
(John xx. 26-29) ; (7) to the seven disciples by the sea (John 
xxi.) ; (8) to the Eleven in a mountain in Galilee (Matt, xxviii. 16) ; 
(9) to the five hundred brethren (1 Cor. xv. 6), possibly identical 
with (8) ; (10) to James (1 Cor. xv. 7) ; (11) to the disciples on 
Olivet (Luke xxiv. 50-53). 

6. The Ascension. Forty days after His resurrection Jesus as- 
cended into heaven (Acts i. 9-12), where He reigns till He shall 
have put all enemies under His feet (1 Cor. xv. 25). 

QUESTIONS 

1. Who prepared the way for Christ's public ministry? 

2. How are the three years of His ministry usually designated? 

3. Where was the year of obscurity chiefly spent? 

4. What great sayings of Jesus do we locate in this year? 

5. Where was the year of popularity spent? 

6. What was the chief scene of Jesus' miracles? 

7. What precious words of Jesus do we locate in this year? 

8. What order of the ministry did Jesus establish in this year? 

9. Name the twelve apostles. 

10. What opposition did Jesus' popularity engender? 

11. What great confession did this opposition lead to? 

12. Trace the career of Jesus during the year of opposition. 

13. What great event and confession marks this year? 

14. What priceless parables do we owe to Jesus' enemies? 

15. What does the Passion include? 

16. What prominence is given to it in the Gospels? 

17. How many appearances of Christ after His resurrection are 
recorded ? 

18. What occurred forty days after the resurrection? 

19. Where is Jesus now? 



LESSON XXIX 

Apostolic History: The Early Church 

(Book: The Acts i. to xii.) 

I. The Birthday of the Church. Jesus' last command was that 
His disciples should wait for the descent of the Holy Spirit at Jeru- 
salem, and then be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and 
the uttermost parts of the earth (Acts i. 8). The eleven, with the 
women, Mary, the mother of Jesus, and His brethren, continued in 
prayer for the Holy Spirit with one accord, "in the upper room" 
(i. 14). On the proposal of Peter, Matthias was chosen by lot, in 
the place of Judas, to be one of the apostles, a witness of the resur- 
rection (i. 8, 11, 14, 15-26). On Pentecost (the fiftieth day after 
the Resurrection, the tenth after the Ascension), commemorative of 
the giving of the Law, the Holy Spirit descended with the sound 
as of a rushing mighty wind, and tongues like as of fire, "and it 
sat upon each of them" (Acts ii.2,3). This was the birthday of the 
Christian Church. The new law of Christ was written upon the 
hearts of His disciples. This endowment of power was manifested 
in the mighty preaching of Peter to the assembly of Jews and prose- 
lytes, to whom he boldly declared the resurrection of Jesus Christ 
as the divine proof of His Messiahship, and in the consequent con- 
version and baptism of three thousand souls (ii. 41). 

2. Early Persecutions. The Church started as a society at Jeru- 
salem, where the members had all things in common (ii. 44). They 
were just emerging from Judaism and worshiped in private houses 
and in the temple. Few of the thousands converted by Peter's 
preaching were residents, and those who were probably attracted 
little attention. The first occasion of publicity was the healing of 
the lame man at the Beautiful Gate of the temple by Peter (iii. 6), 
and Peter's insistence that it was by the power of Jesus that the 
cure had been wrought (iv. 19). For their boldness Peter and 
John were imprisoned and threatened by the Sanhedrin, but they 
continued their work of preaching Christ and healing in His name. 
Arrested a second time, they were beaten by order of the council, 
8 (113) 



114 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

and, on the plea of Gamaliel, let go, "rejoicing that they were 
counted worthy to suffer shame for His name" (v. 41). But 
through all this opposition the Church prospered (iv. 4). 

3. Deacons Ordained — Stephen. The Greek-speaking Jews mur- 
mured against the Hebrews "because their widows were neglected in 
the daily ministration." Where no provision for the poor and aged 
was made by the state, their care was one of the problems of a re- 
ligious body. The apostles, declining to leave "the ministry of the 
word for serving tables," called the body of the disciples together 
and asked them to elect seven qualified men, whom they ordained 
for this practical service (vi. 1-7). By this arrangement "the word 
of God increased," "the number of the disciples multiplied," and "a 
great company of the priests" believed. The most conspicuous of 
the seven deacons was Stephen, whose preaching stirred up such 
opposition in the synagogues that the Jews suborned men to say that 
they had heard him speak blasphemy. Stephen's defence, in which 
he reviewed the history of the Hebrew nation as a prophecy of the 
coming of Jesus, is one of the most notable utterances in the New 
Testament (vi., vii.). "Cut to the heart" and "gnashing their 
teeth," his hearers stoned him to death. Stephen's prayer, "Lord, 
lay not this sin to their charge," bore fruit in the conversion of 
Saul, a witness consenting to his death (viii. 1). 

4. General Persecution. A general persecution now scattered 
all the disciples through Judea and Samaria, except the apostles 
(viii. 1) ; but as the storm scatters the seed far and wide, so the 
scattered disciples, wherever they went, preached the word (viii. 4). 
Saul, as a member of the Sanhedrin (xxvi. 10), made havoc of the 
Church. Some of the scattered Christians ultimately traveled as 
far as Phenice, Cyprus and Antioch (xi. 19). Philip, a deacon, 
preached Christ in Samaria; many believed and were baptized. 
Peter and John, from Jerusalem, followed up the work, confirming 
the converts by the laying on of hands, the beginning of the 
Church's rite of confirmation (viii. 17). John, who once would 
have called fire from heaven to consume the Samaritans, now calls 
upon the Holy Spirit to confirm them. But false conceptions of the 
new faith, as in the case of Simon Magus, the father of heresy, are 
quickly exposed (viii. 14-25). Philip was now sent by the angel of 
the Lord to Gaza, and was instrumental in the conversion of the 
Ethiopian eunuch (viii. 26-40). 

5. The Arch-Persecutor Converted. The arch-persecutor of the 
Christian Church was Saul of Tarsus, by his own confession (Gal. i. 



APOSTOLIC HISTORY: THE EARLY CHURCH 115 

13, 23; 1 Tim. L 13; Acts xxvi. 11). Commissioned from Jerusalem 
by the high priest to imprison any Christians he should find at 
Damascus, on his way thither he was arrested by a bright light and 
a voice from heaven, which said, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou 
me?" Asking what he should do, he was directed to Ananias, of 
Damascus, a convert from Judaism, who was the instrument of 
giving him light (ix.). Saul, immediately after his baptism, preached 
Christ in the synagogue of Damascus and in Jerusalem. 

6. Breaking Down of the Middle Wall of Partition. This took 
place in Caesarea, and the agent was Peter. Up to this time no Gen- 
tile might come into the Church of God except by the way of the 
Gate of the Proselyte. He must submit to Jewish ordinances and 
customs before he could be one of the covenant people. Without 
circumcision it seemed impossible to the apostles that a man could 
become a member of the Church. This was Peter's position until he 
received the vision on the house top at Joppa (x.). A similar vision 
was sent to Cornelius, a Roman centurion, at Csesarea, who was 
instructed to send for Peter. The baptism of Cornelius was the 
Pentecost of the Gentiles. By the gift of the Holy Spirit to him 
God showed that the wall of partition between races was henceforth 
broken down. 

7. Herod's Persecution. Herod Agrippa L, grandson of Herod 
the Great, made king of Abilene by Caligula, to which Galilee and 
Perea were added on the exile of Herod Antipas, and Judea and 
Samaria by Claudius — so that his kingdom was as large as that of 
Herod the Great— was a strict Jew. To please the Jews he "put 
forth his hands to afflict certain of the church." He slew James, 
and he imprisoned Peter, intending after the Passover to slay him 
also; but before he could carry out his wicked purpose Peter was 
miraculously delivered, and Herod was smitten with a fatal disease 
(xii.). Peter's imprisonment, however, compelled him to leave 
Jerusalem, and now all the Twelve are scattered. 



116 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

QUESTIONS 

1. What was the birthday of the Christian Church? 

2. By what signs was it marked? 

3. What was the condition of the first Church? 

4. What led to the first persecution? 

5. What was the office of the seven deacons ? 

6. What led to the first general persecution? 

7. What was the beginning of the rite of confirmation? 

8. What led to the conversion of Saul? 

9. How was "the middle wall of partition" broken down? 

10. What was the extent and significance of Herod's persecution? 



LESSON XXX 

Apostolic History: Expansion of the Church 

(Book: The Acts xiii. to xxviii.) 

1. The First Gentile Church. Antioch (in Syria) now became 
the center of the Church's activity and the base of her missionary 
operations. Men of Cyprus and Cyrene, scattered by the persecution 
following Stephen's death, came to Antioch and preached Jesus 
(Acts xi. 19-21), and "the hand of the Lord was with them, and a 
great number that believed turned unto the Lord." When the news 
of this missionary work reached the church at Jerusalem, Barnabas 
was sent to confirm the new converts, and, bringing Saul from Tar- 
sus, he with his younger helper labored there a year, founding the 
first wholly Gentile church. That brought into the service of the 
Church the most powerful personality, after Jesus Christ, that has 
influenced its career, and the history of the Church's expansion is 
largely the history of his labors. The church in Antioch was 
worthy of such a leader, for it extended a helping hand to the 
famine-stricken brethren in Judea (xi. 27-30), and it was of the 
men who carried relief to Jerusalem from the Christians at Antioch 
that the Holy Spirit afterwards said, "Separate me Barnabas and 
Saul for the work whereunto I have called them" (xiii. 2). With 
this divine command the outward movement began. 

2. First Missionary Journey (A. D. 47-49). From Antioch, Bar- 
nabas and Saul, taking John Mark as their helper, set sail for 
Cyprus, where Sergius Paulus, the proconsul, believed, notwith- 
standing the opposition of Elymas the sorcerer. Saul is now and 
henceforth Paul, marking the transition between his ministry to the 
Jews and to the Gentiles. From Cyprus they sailed to Asia Minor, 
landing at Perga, in Pamphylia, where John Mark forsook them 
for his home in Jerusalem. Thence they went to Antioch, in 
Pisidia, where, after preaching to the Jews in the synagogue in 
vain, they turned to the Gentiles. Driven away by the Jews, they 
went to Iconium. There a multitude of Jews and Greeks believed, 
but an attempt having been made to stone Paul and Barnabas, they 
fled to Lystra. Here the people were barely prevented from wor- 

(117) 



118 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

shiping them as gods, and then, inflamed by meddlesome Jews, 
they stoned Paul. The terminus of this missionary journey was 
Derbe in Galatia. After preaching the gospel in that city, where 
they made many converts, the missionaries retraced their steps, 
establishing the churches and setting elders over them, and, after 
an absence of eighteen months, reported their work to the church 
at Antioch, rehearsing "how God had opened the door of faith to 
the Gentiles" (Acts xiii., xiv.). 

3. The Council at Jerusalem. The missionary work of Paul and 
Barnabas brought on the first great crisis in the history of the 
Church. They had been admitting Gentile believers to the fellow- 
ship of the Church through the door, not of circumcision, but of 
faith in Jesus Christ. But certain Judaizers went from Jerusalem to 
Antioch and began to teach, "Except ye be circumcised after the 
custom of Moses ye cannot be saved." The church at Antioch was 
immediately thrown into consternation, and Paul and Barnabas 
were sent to Jerusalem to secure an official opinion by the mother 
church. The council was held in the year 49 or 50. It was the first, 
and, in some respects, the most important council in the history of 
Christendom. After due deliberation a letter was sent to the Gen- 
tile brethren in Syria and Cilicia repudiating the conduct of the 
Pharisaic teachers who had raised the issue, expressing joy at 
the work of Paul and Barnabas, but laying the fourfold injunction 
upon the Gentile Christians that they abstain from meats that had 
been sacrificed to idols, flesh with the blood in it, the flesh of 
strangled animals, and from fornication. The decree was accepted 
at Antioch, and thus a schism in the Church was averted (xv.). 

4. Second Missionary Journey (A. D. 50-52). On this journey 
Paul was accompanied by Silas, Paul and Barnabas having separ- 
ated because of Paul's unwillingness to take Mark with them. 
Starting at Antioch, they first made a tour of the cities touched in 
the first journey. They went into Galatia, and, restrained by the 
Spirit from preaching in proconsular Asia and Bithynia, to Troas, 
on the Mgzan Sea. Here Paul and Silas were joined by Luke, 
and, responding to the vision of the man of Macedonia which came 
to Paul, they crossed into Europe. Paul preached the gospel with 
great success, first in Philippi, where Lydia and the jailer were 
converted; then in Thessalonica, where he was persecuted by the 
Jews, but left a flourishing church; then in Berea, where the con- 
verts won praise for their study of the Scriptures. In Athens, the 
literary capital of Greece, he preached to its philosophers on Mars' 



APOSTOLIC HISTORY : EXPANSION OF CHURCH 119 

Hill. In Corinth, the political capital and the commercial bridge 
between Europe and Asia, he spent eighteen months, and under great 
difficulties built up a church, which was honored with two of his 
most important epistles. In the spring of 54 he returned by way of 
Ephesus, Csesarea and Jerusalem to Antioch. 

5. Third Missionary Journey (52-55 ° r 56 A. D.). The third 
missionary journey centers in Ephesus, the renowned capital of pro- 
consular Asia and the seat of the worship of Diana, whither Paul 
went after revisiting the disciples in Phrygia and Galatia, and re- 
mained between two and three years. Here he established a strong 
church, to which one of his Epistles is addressed. The uprising 
caused by Demetrius the silversmith drove him away from Ephesus, 
and he revisited the churches in Macedonia and Achaia, spending 
three months in Corinth. 

6. Arrests and Imprisonments. In the spring of 55 or 56 Paul 
went for the last time to Jerusalem by way of Miletus (xx. 16, 17), 
carrying alms for the poor brethren of Judea from the Christians 
of Greece. Here some fanatical Jews raised an uproar against him, 
during the feast of Pentecost, which would have resulted in his 
murder had not the Roman tribune rescued him. He was sent to 
the Roman procurator, Felix, in Csesarea, where he was confined 
in prison two years awaiting his trial. Before Festus, who suc- 
ceeded Felix, Paul, exercising his rights as a Roman citizen, ap- 
pealed to Caesar and was sent to Rome. He had a stormy voyage, 
suffering shipwreck, which detained him over winter at Malta. The 
spring following (59 or 60 A. D.) he reached Rome. Here he spent 
two years in easy confinement "in his own hired house," awaiting the 
decision of his case, surrounded by his friends and fellow-laborers, 
preaching the gospel to the soldiers of the imperial guard. 

7. Martyrdom. Here the account of Acts ends. It would seem as 
if Paul had been released from his first imprisonment and had trav- 
eled again in the East (cf. 1 Tim. i. 3 ; 2 Tim. iv. 13, 20; Titus i. 
5, iii. 12), if not to Spain, as he so much desired (Rom. xv. 24, 28). 
In 64 A. D. Paul was arrested, possibly at Miletus or Ephesus, and 
hurried to Rome (2 Tim. iv. 9-21), where he suffered martyrdom 
under Nero. 

8. Summary of the Acts. It will be found valuable to master 
the following analysis of the Acts: 

Introduction (i. 1-3)- 
I. The Founding of the Church (i. 4, it. 47). 
The ascension and the last instructions of Christ (i. 4-u) ; the 



120 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

election of Matthias (i. 12-26). The Day of Pentecost and the 
state of the primitive Church (ii. 1-47). 
//. The Church in Jerusalem (Hi. to mi.). 

Miracles, testimony and sufferings of Peter; the first persecutions 
(iii. to v. 42). 

The election of deacons (vi. 1-7). 

The acts of Stephen (vi. 8 to vii. 60). 

III. The Church in Judea and Samaria (viii. to ix. 43). 
The acts of Philip (viii.). 

The conversion of Saul (ix. 1-30). 

The acts of Peter at Lydda and Joppa (ix. 31-43). 

IV. The Extension of Church Membership to the Gentiles (x. to 

xii.). 
The vision of Peter and the conversion of Cornelius (x.). 
Peter's defence to the church at Jerusalem (xi. 1-18). 
The founding of the church at Antioch (xi. 19-30). 
The second persecution and the judgment of Herod (xii.). 

V. The Church among the Gentiles, and their relation to the Mother 

Church (xiii. to xv.). 
First Missionary Journey of Paul and Barnabas through Cyprus, 
Pamphylia and Pisidia (xiii., xiv.). 
The Council of Jerusalem (xv.). 

VI. Extension of the Church in the Roman Empire (xvi. to xx.). 
Second Missionary Journey of Paul, with Silas and Timothy, in 

Asia Minor and Europe (xv. 36 to xviii. 22). 

Third Missionary Journey in Asia Minor, Macedonia and Greece, 
and Paul's Return to Jerusalem (xviii. 23 to xxi. 16). 

VII. Final Acts of Paul (xxi. 17 to xxviii.). 

His arrest, imprisonment and removal to Caesarea (xxi. 17 to xxiii. 
35). 

Paul's defence before Felix and Festus (xxiv. to xxvi.). 
Voyage, shipwreck and life at Rome (xxvii. and xxviii.). 



QUESTIONS 

1. What city now became the base of the Church's operations? 

2. Who were the first ordained missionaries? 

3. Trace Paul's first missionary journey. (See map.) 

4. What was the occasion of the council at Jerusalem, and the 
outcome ? 



APOSTOLIC HISTORY: EXPANSION OF CHURCH 121 

5. Trace Paul's second missionary journey. (See map.) 

6. Trace Paul's third missionary journey. (See map.) 
7- What occurred on Paul's last visit to Jerusalem? 

8. Where did he suffer imprisonment? 
o. What was the end of his life? 
io. Give a synopsis of the Acts of the Apostles. 



LESSON XXXI 
The Epistles 

Of the twenty-seven books which compose the New Testament 
twenty-one are Epistles. This form of literature was common in 
the Roman world of the first Christian century, and it was natural 
that it should come into use in a community of young missionary 
churches whose founder could not remain with them. The Epistles 
of the New Testament are more than personal correspondence. 
They are the inspired exposition of the principles of Christianity. 
Some of these letters are elaborate theological essays ; others are 
exhortations on the subject of practical duty; while still others are 
little more than personal notes. "Six are addressed to individuals, 
ten to local churches and five to Christians in general." 

The Epistles naturally divide themselves into two classes; first, 
the Pauline; second, the General Epistles. 

I. THE PAULINE EPISTLES 

The epistles of St. Paul are the earliest literary relics of the New 
Testament. Only one other book is earlier. Their value was early 
recognized and they were gathered into a volume called the Apostoli- 
con, containing all of the Pauline Epistles except those to Timothy 
and Titus. This was the earliest collection of New Testament writ- 
ings of which we have any record. Probably some of Paul's letters 
are lost. In the Epistle to the Colossians he speaks of his "letter to 
the Laodiceans" (Col. iv. 16). That epistle has perished, and others 
doubtless have shared its fate. 

The order of the Pauline Epistles in the Bible is meaningless and 
probably was determined only by the relative bulk of the writings. 
Arranged according to date the order, as nearly as we can deter- 
mine, is : 

Hastings. Ramsay. Zahn. 

i and 2 Thessalonians 50 (late) 51 (late) 53 (late) 

Galatians 52 53 53 (early) 

1 and 2 Corinthians 55 56 57 

Romans 57 57 58 

(122) 



THE EPISTLES 123 

Hastings. Ramsay. Zahn. 

Philippians "] 59 60 63 

Colossians > . . . 62 

Ephesians J . . 62 

Philemon 61 62 62 

1 Timothy.") 64-65 65-67 65 

Titus ..... j- . . 65 

2 Timothy , J . . 66 

This order is most significant and helpful, for it indicates the 
three natural divisions of the Epistles — 

(1) Those written during the period of Paul's missionary activity, 
1 and 2 Thessalonians, Galatians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Romans. 

(2) Those written during the Roman imprisonment, Philippians, 
Colossians, Ephesians, Philemon. 

(3) Those written after Paul's release, in the closing years of his 
life — the so-called pastoral epistles — 1 Timothy, Titus, 2 Timothy. 

1. 1 and 2 Thessalonians. Thessalonica was a prosperous city on 
the Thermaic gulf. Here Paul established a church on the Second 
Missionary Journey, but was driven out by Jewish persecution. He 
wrote these epistles shortly afterward from the city of Corinth. 
They are full of the sort of counsel young converts from heathen- 
ism would need. The dominant thought is the coming of the Lord. 
The second letter was written to remove misunderstandings which 
had been caused by the first. 

2. Galatians. This epistle is addressed not to an individual church, 
but to a group of churches. It was written at the close of the 
Second Missionary Journey from the city of Antioch. It was writ- 
ten to combat the influence of Judaic teachers who insisted that the 
observance of the Mosaic ritual was necessary to Christian disci- 
pleship. 

3. 1 and 2 Corinthians. Corinth was the commercial bridge of Asia 
and the political capital of Achaia in Paul's day. Here Paul founded 
a church on his Second Missionary Journey during a sojourn of 
eighteen months. He wrote 1 Corinthians from Ephesus and 2 
Corinthians from Macedonia during the period of the Third Mis- 
sionary Journey. These epistles reflect "the earliest conflict of 
Christianity with the culture and the vices of the ancient classical 
world." In them Paul combats "the false pride, the false knowledge, 
the false liberality, the false freedom, the false display, the false 
philosophy" of declining Greek culture. His allusions and illustra- 
tions are gathered from Greek and Roman life. Their purpose was 



124 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

to curb Gentile license. The second letter contains considerable 
biographical material. 

4. Romans. The Epistle to the Romans was written from the city 
of Corinth at the end of the Third Missionary Journey. It is a 
treatise on the power of faith. In substance "it is a justification 
of the apostle's mission to the Gentiles." 

5. Philippians. This is probably the first epistle of the apostle's 
imprisonment. The church at Philippi was founded by him on the 
Second Missionary Journey. The letter is "a spontaneous expression 
of love and gratitude for the affectionate generosity of the Philip- 
pians." It is the only letter of Paul's which contains no word of 
rebuke or disappointment. The keynote is, Follow Christ. 

6. Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon were written very close 
together in time and sent at the same time by Tychicus. The 
church at Colosse, a city of Phrygia, was not established by Paul, 
who classes the Colossians among those "who have not seen my 
face." The church was beset by the Gnostic heresy, which made of 
Jesus Christ a mere creature. The apostle's theme in this letter is 
the glory of Christ as the Head of the Universe. The Church at 
Ephesus was established by Paul on the Third Missionary Journey. 
The epistle is an exposition of the ideal church and lessons from 
this truth. The Epistle to Philemon is a private letter of Paul to 
Philemon, a resident of Colosse, concerning his runaway slave, 
Onesimus, who had made his way to Rome and there fallen under 
the influence of the apostle, under whom he appears to have been 
converted. Paul returns the slave to his master with this tender 
message. 

7. The Pastoral Epistles. The two Epistles to Timothy and the 
Epistle to Titus are called "the pastoral epistles" because addressed 
to these friends of Paul in their capacity as pastors. They were 
written during the Roman period of the apostle's life. They contain 
pastoral theology of permanent value. 

II. GENERAL EPISTLES 

The first book of the New Testament to be written was the Epistle 
of James, the brother of our Lord, about the year 50 (Zahn), show- 
ing the relation between faith and works. 1 Peter, written to en- 
courage suffering Christians to be steadfast, dates about 64 (Zahn), 
while 2 Peter was probably written two years earlier. The Epistle 
of Jude, another brother of our Lord, is assigned by Zahn to the 
year 75. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews is unknown, 



THE EPISTLES 125 

but its purpose is to show the superiority of Christ. Its date is 
variously assigned from 70 (Westcott) to 80 (Zahn). The Epistles 
of John belong to the period 80 to 90, and Revelation to the year 
95 (Zahn). 

QUESTIONS 
r. What is an epistle? 

2. How many epistles are there? 

3. How many are certainly Pauline? 

4. Give the chronological order of the Pauline Epistles. 

5. Into what three groups are they naturally divided? 

6. What is the dominant thought of the Epistles to the Thessa- 
lonians? 

7. What is the dominant thought of the Epistle to the Galatians ? 

8. What is the dominant thought of the Epistles to the Corin- 
thians ? 

9. What is the dominant thought of the Epistle to the Romans? 

10. What is the dominant thought of the Epistle to the Colossians ? 

11. What is the dominant thought of the Epistle to the Ephesians? 

12. What was probably the first book of the New Testament? 



LESSON XXXII 
The Geography of the Bible 

i. General Statement. The geography of the Bible is mainly con- 
cerned with the Holy Land, although it includes countries ranging 
from Italy to the Persian Gulf, and from the Caucasus mountain 
range to the extreme south of Arabia and the Nile Valley, an area 
extending from ten to forty-five degrees east longitude and from 
twenty-seven to forty-five degrees north latitude. 

2. Lands Included. The geography of the Old Testament in- 
cludes all of Western Asia between the Caspian, the Black and the 
Mediterranean Seas and the Persian Gulf, together with the land of 
Egypt. The following lands should be located on the map : Armenia 
(R. V., Ararat), which the Assyrians called A-ra-ar-ti (Gen. viii. 
4; 2 Kings xix. 37), south of Mount Caucasus; Media, south of 
the Caspian Sea (Dan. v. 28, 31) ; Persia, south of Media, in later 
Bible times a country of very great importance (Ezra i. 2; Esther 
i. 3), of which Shushan was the capital; Assyria, in the northern 
part of the Mesopotamian plain, the home of Israel's conquerors 
(2 Kings xvii. 1-6), of which Nineveh was the capital; Elam, 
southeast of Assyria, the home of one of the earliest nations (Gen. 
xiv. 1, 9) ; Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and the Euphrates, to 
the north, in which Haran, one of the homes of Abraham, 
was situated (Gen. xi. 31) ; Chaldea, between the same rivers, 
to the south, also called Babylonia, from its capital, and 
Shinar (Gen. xi. 2), the land of Judah's captivity (2 Chron. xxxvi. 
11-20) ; Arabia, known also as The East Country (Gen. xxv. 6), 
including the peninsula of Sinai (Ex. xvi. 1) ; Syria, more com- 
monly called Aram (Judges x. 6), extending from the Euphrates 
to Palestine, of which Damascus was the capital ; Phoenicia, a 
narrow strip of land between Mount Lebanon and the Medi- 
terranean Sea, also called "the land of Tyre and Zidon," from its 
chief cities, whose king was a friend of David (1 Kings v. 1) ; 
Canaan, "the lowland," the country west of Jordan and the Dead 
Sea, which Israel inherited (Gen. xii. 5) ; Egypt, in the northeastern 
corner of Africa, the land of Israel's bondage (Ex. xiv. 30), of 
which Memphis was the ancient capital (Hos. ix. 6). 

(126) 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE BIBLE 127 

The New Testament, while its events are confined chiefly to the 
Holy Land, introduces the gospel into Asia Minor and Europe. 
There were fourteen provinces of Asia Minor, eleven of which 
are referred to in the New Testament, namely: Pontus, on the 
Black Sea, the birthplace of Aquila (Acts xviii. 2), and Bithynia, 
adjoining it (Acts xvi. 7; 1 Peter i. 1) ; Cilicia (Acts xxi. 39), 
Pamphylia (Acts xiii. 13) and Lycia (Acts xxvii. 5), on the Medi- 
terranean; Mysia (Acts xvi. 7), Lydia and Caria (the three 
spoken of in general as "Asia" in Acts xvi. 6 and xix. 10) on the 
-<3igean; and the five interior provinces — Galatia (Gal. i. 2) ; Cappa- 
docia (Acts ii. 9), Lycaonia (Acts xiv. 6), Pisidia (Acts xiii. 14) 
and Phrygia (Acts xvi. 6). These should be located on the map. 
Passing to Europe, Macedonia (Acts xvi. 9, 10; xx. 1-3) ; Greece, 
also called Achaia (Acts xviii. 12; xx. 3), Illyricum (Rom. xv. 19) 
and Italy (Acts xxvii. 1) should be located. 

3. Islands. A number of islands figure in the Bible narrative: 
Cyprus, in the northeast corner of the Mediterranean (Acts iv. 36), 
the home of Barnabas and Sergius Paulus (Acts xiii. 7); Crete, 
south of the TEgean Sea, between Asia Minor and Greece (Acts 
xxvii. 7) ; Patmos, in the y£gean Sea, not far from Ephesus (Rev. 
i. 9) ; Sicily, southwest of Italy (Acts xxviii. 12) ; Melita, now 
Malta, south of Sicily (Acts xxviii. 1). 

4. Seas and Rivers. The following seas play such a large part in 
Bible history that they should be carefully located : The Mediterra- 
nean, "the great sea" (Josh. i. 4), which was the western boundary 
of the Old Testament world (Deut. xxxiv. 2) and the great highway 
of the missionary journeys of St. Paul (Acts xiii. 4; xxi. 1, 2; 
xxvii. 3) ; the Red Sea, between Egypt and the peninsula of Sinai, 
famous in the annals of Israel (Ex. xv. 4) ; the Dead Sea, called 
in the Bible "the sea of the plain" and "the salt sea" (Josh. iii. 16; 
Gen. xiv. 3), between Canaan and the Arabian desert; the Sea of 
Galilee, north of the Dead Sea (note its Old Testament name in 
Num. xxxiv. 11 and Josh. xiii. 27, and its New Testament names 
in Matt. xv. 29, John vi. 1 and Luke v. 1) ; the TEgean Sea, between 
Asia Minor and Greece (Acts xvi. 11, xviii. 18, xx. 13-15) ; the 
Adriatic Sea, between Greece and Italy (Acts xxvii. 27). 

The location of the following rivers should likewise be made 
familiar: The Tigris, called in the Bible Hiddekel, flowing from 
Ararat to the Persian Gulf (Gen. ii. 14; Dan. x. 4) ; the Euphrates, 
west of the Tigris and finally uniting with it (Gen. ii. 14, 15; xv. 
18; Josh. i. 4; xxiv. 2) ; the Jordan, flowing between the two parallel 



128 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

ranges of the Lebanon Mountains into the Dead Sea (Josh. iii. 17; 
2 Kings ii. 13; Matt. iii. 13) ; the Nile, in Africa, flowing northward 
into the Mediterranean (Gen. xli. 1; Ex. ii. 3). 

5. Mountains. The mountains of the Bible all belong to one sys- 
tem — the Lebanon Range — extending from Ararat in a south- 
westerly direction toward the Red Sea. Mount Hermon, the 
mountains of Palestine, Mount Seir, on the south of the Dead Sea, 
and Mount Sinai all belong to this chain (Deut. iii. 25; Josh. xiii. 
5; 1 Kings v. 6). Hermon, Lebanon, Kurn Hattin, Tabor, Gilead, 
Carmel, Ebal, Gerizim, Olivet and Nebo are easily located in passing 
from north to south. (See maps, pp. 159-161.) 



QUESTIONS 

1. What is the extent of the geography of the Bible? 

2. What lands are included in the geography of the Old Testa- 
ment? 

3. What lands are included in the geography of the New Testa- 
ment? 

4. What islands figure in Bible history? 

5. What seas? 

6. What rivers? 

7. What mountains? 



■^^=. 



LESSON XXXIII 

The Geography of the Bible — Continued 

i. The Holy Land and its Names. The chief theater of the 
events of the Bible is that part of Syria which lies south of Lebanon 
along the Mediterranean coast The country is known by several 
names. On the old Egyptian monuments it is called the land of 
Ruthen, or Rutenna. Its earliest Bible name is Canaan, "the low- 
land" (Gen. xii. 5). After the conquest of Joshua it is sometimes 
called Israel, though in later times that name was associated only 
with the northern portion. It is also called Palestine, the Greek 
and Latin word for "Philistine," the name of the heathen race that 
inhabited the lowlands by the sea coast, and were earliest known to 
remote nations (Isa. xiv. 29). "The Holy Land," though occurring 
but once in the Bible (Zech. ii. 12) is now the name in most fre- 
quent use, on account of the sacred associations with which the 
country is connected. 

2. Boundaries and Extent. The land which God promised to 
Abraham was declared to extend from the river of Egypt to the 
Euphrates (Gen. xv. 18). It was afterwards explained to Joshua 
that the northern boundary should be beyond Lebanon, at "the enter- 
ing in of Hamath" (Josh. xiii. 5). In Ezekiel's vision the eastern 
boundary is directed to be measured "from Hauran, and from 
Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel by Jordan, 
from the border unto the east sea" (Ezek. xlvii. 18). It is clear 
that the territory which God assigned to the seed of Abraham was 
much larger than that which the Jews actually possessed, until, at 
least, the days of David and Solomon. The district generally under- 
stood as the Holy Land includes the region from Dan, at the foot 
of Mount Hermon, to Beersheba, at the foot of the Hebron hills, 
and from the Mediterranean to the Syrian desert. The region lies 
between latitude 31° and 330 30' north, and between 340 and 370 east 
longitude, about 150 miles in length by 50 in width, containing about 
7500 square miles, about the size of the State of New Jersey. 

3. Topography. The topography of the country is very interest- 
ing. During the early convolutions of the globe two high ranges of 
hills were thrown up on the north of Palestine, rising in some places 

9 (129) 



130 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

to the height of 10,000 feet and running parallel to each other- 
Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon. These two ranges continue all through 
the land of Palestine, not as mountains, but as tablelands— Anti- 
Lebanon on the east of Jordan, broken into the highlands of Bashan, 
Gilead and Moab, and Lebanon on the west of Jordan broken into 
the highlands of Galilee, Samaria and Judea. Topographically, toe 
land of Palestine lies in five natural divisions: (a) The Maritime 
Plain, extending along the Mediterranean Sea from eight to twenty 
miles wide; (b) the Shephelah, or Low Hills, from 300 to 500 feet 
high; (c) the Central Ridge of mountains from 2500 to 4000 feet 
high; (d) the Jordan Valley, a deep ravine, the bed of the river 
and its three lakes, from 500 to 1300 feet below the level of the sea, 
and from two to fourteen miles wide; (e) the Eastern Tableland, 
a region of rugged and precipitous mountains, beyond which a plain 
stretches away to the Arabian desert. 

4. The Jordan Valley. Among the rivers of the world the Jordan 
is unique. "There may be something on the surface of another 
planet to match the Jordan Valley/' says Dr. George Adam Smith, 
"there is nothing like it on this. No other part of our earth, un- 
covered by water, sinks to 300 feet below the level of the ocean. 
But here we have a rift more than one hundred and sixty miles 
long, and from two to fifteen broad, which falls from the sea level 
to as deep as 1292 feet below it, at the coast of the Dead Sea, while 
the bottom of the latter is 1300 feet deeper still." The Jordan rises 
in three sources in Mount Hermon, 1800 feet above sea level. On a 
direct line from Dan, one of its sources, it is one hundred and. ten 
miles long, but, by its windings, over two hundred miles. The direct 
distance from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea is sixty miles, 
while in a boat one would travel three times as far. "The river 
itself, whose breadth is from twenty-five to sixty yards, commonly 
flows in a ravine within a ravine. The stream is enclosed in a narrow, 
rocky channel, which again is sunk in the Ghor, or valley of Jordan— 
a plain some miles in breadth, bounded by bare mountains on either 
side. . . . The waters of the Jordan, even in flood, do not spread 
beyond the inner channel ; consequently, while the edge of the river 
is covered by a rich and rank vegetation ('the pride of Jordan'), 
the plain itself is commonly a dry, burned-up wilderness." Farther 
on, the river runs into a dreary, desolate waste (Matt. iii. 1). 

5. Three Natural Divisions. Nature has divided Western Pales- 
tine into three natural sections— the southern, the central and the 
northern. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE BIBLE— CONTINUED 131 

( i ) Judea includes the land, roughly speaking, between the thirty- 
second parallel of latitude on the north and the Southern Desert. It 
is, for the most part, a high plateau, comprising scarcely two thou- 
sand square miles. It was in this district that the kingdom of Judah 
was located, and it is noted chiefly for its capital city, Jerusalem. The 
land is high, rocky, austere, secluded, giving rise to the name "the 
hill country of Judah" (literally, "Mount Judah," Josh. xxi. n). 

(2) Samaria, extending from the mountain passes of Judah to 
the plain of Esdraelon, includes the most open part of Palestine. It 
is the district where the tribe of Ephraim — the great rival of Judah 
— rose to power. It formed a chief part of the kingdom of the ten 
tribes, and, in the New Testament times, the region of Samaria. 

(3) Galilee means "the ring," and is the name given to the north- 
ern frontier of Palestine. The province extended from Esdraelon 
to the foothills of Lebanon and from the Sea of Galilee to Phoenicia. 
It coincides with the inheritance of the tribes of Issachar, Zebulun, 
Asher and Naphtali. It is very irregular in contour, partly plain and 
partly mountain, the most picturesque and the most fertile of the 
regions of Palestine. 

6. The Sea Coast. The sea coast line of this country is remark- 
able for its continuity. There are no natural creeks or bays adapted 
to form harbors. It was different with Phoenicia, where harbors are 
numerous. In consequence the Hebrews were not a seafaring peo- 
ple. The sea was to them an impassable barrier, a symbol of danger 
and insecurity. It is obvious, therefore, how well adapted the 
natural form of the Holy Land was for the purpose for which the 
people who inherited it were chosen. (See map, p. 161.) 



QUESTIONS 

1. What land is the chief theater of Bible events? 

2. Give some of its names. 

3. What are the boundaries of the Holy Land? Its size? 

4. What is the general topography of the land? Its natural di- 
visions? 

5. Describe the Jordan Valley. 

6. Into what divisions does Western Palestine fall? 



LESSON XXXIV 
Historical Geography 

Our last lesson was a study of the natural geography of the Holy 
Land. It is desirable that we should know something of the inhab- 
itants and political divisions of the land at various epochs of its his- 
tory. A number of successive waves of migration swept over the 
land, leaving their traces upon it, telling the story of a very ancient 
history. 

i. Early Days. Prehistoric Palestine has not yet been restored. 
It is not within the province of the Bible to trace the racial history 
of Palestine. We have already learned something from the excava- 
tions which have been made there, and we shall doubtless learn 
more that we desire to know. Macalister's excavations at Gezer 
showed that in the neolithic age the city was inhabited by an aborig- 
inal, non-Semitic race of small stature who lived in caves. They 
were probably akin to the Horites who dwelt in Mt. Seir. (Gen. 
xiv. 6). They used stone implements and cremated their dead. 
The excavations further show that the later inhabitants of Gezer 
were Semites, who came in as invaders of the land. They built a 
new city on the site of the old, buried their dead and used metal 
implements. The earliest references in the Bible to the primitive 
inhabitants include such names as the Rephaim, a giant aboriginal 
race; the Zuzim, the original inhabitants northeast of the Dead 
Sea; the Emmim, the Moabite name of a giant people east of the 
Dead Sea (Gen. xiv. 5) ; the Zamzummim (Deut. ii. 20), probably 
the same as the Zummim, and the Horites. A few individuals of 
these races are mentioned in later times (2 Sam. xvii. 4-7; xxi. 
16-22). These races are, in all probability, sub-divisions of the 
early race which occupied the land, which, for want of a more 
definite name, we call Canaanites, though the Canaanites of the 
Bible were one of these divisions. 

2. Patriarchal Days. In the Old Testament the mixed population 
which occupied the land before the period of the conquest is gener- 
ally classified under six or seven tribal names. In three passages 

(132) 



HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY 133 

(Deut. vii. I ; Josh. xxiv. n and iii. 10) seven nations are mentioned 
by name; in nine passages (Ex. iii. 8, 17, xxxiii. 2, xxxiv. 11; Deut. 
xx. 17; Josh. ix. 1, xi. 3, xii. 8; Judges iii. 5) six of the seven are 
given. These are the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, Periz- 
zites and Jebusites. 

(1) The Canaanites. "Canaanite" is both a geographical and an 
ethnic designation. Geographically it is never used of the land east 
of the Jordan, but is a name given to the people of the coast plain of 
south Palestine and of the Sidonian country north of Esdraelon. 
The Canaanites thus included the Philistines and the Phoenicians. 

(2) The Hittites. This nation, which took its name from Heth, 
the second son of Canaan, is frequently mentioned in connection 
with the Amorites. They were concentrated principally in Syria, 
but colonists of them had settled in detachments in southern Pales- 
tine. 

(3) The Amorites. "Amorite" is always a racial, never a local 
name. From the Bible statements it seems that the Amorites pre- 
ceded the Hittites in the occupation of the mountain regions of 
Palestine and Syria. "The land of the Amorites" was one of the 
earliest names given to Palestine (Gen. xv. 16). In the period im- 
mediately preceding the conquest the Amorites had possession of the 
greater part of the mountain regions east and west of the Jordan 
Valley. Og and Sihon were called "the two kings of the Amorites." 

(4) The Hivites occupied a limited district north of Jerusalem. 

(5) The Perizzites dwelt in the plains of lower Galilee and in the 
foothills which bordered the Sharon plain. 

(6) The Jebusites are mentioned only in connection with Jeru- 
salem and its environs. 

(7) Of the Girgashites nothing is known. Before the conquest 
the greater part of the Southland was held by the Amalekites (Num. 
xiii. 29). The Moabites were east of the Dead Sea (Deut. ii. 9) ; 
the Ammonites, between the Arnon and the Jabbok (Gen. xix. 38), 
and the Bashanites, or Gileadites, in the north (Deut. iii. 1-3). 

3. The Days of the Conquest. The land as conquered by Joshua 
and allotted to the tribes was divided in the following order : 

(1) The Southern Group. The first allotment was made to Judah 
and included the whole country south of Jerusalem from the Medi- 
terranean to the Dead Sea, embracing more than 2000 square miles. 
Out of this a part was afterwards taken for Simeon on the south- 
west (Josh. xix. 9), for Dan on the northwest (Judges xiii. 25), 
and for Benjamin on the north (Josh, xviii. 11, 12). 



134 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

(2) Central Group. The land which lay immediately north of 
Benjamin was allotted to Ephraim and Manasseh (half tribe). 

(3) Northern Group. The hills which form the northern bound- 
ary of Manasseh slope down toward the plain, the famous plain of 
Megiddo or Esdraelon. This section fell to the lot of Issachar 
(Josh. xix. 17). North of Issachar, Zebulun, Asher and Naphtali 
had their settlements (Josh. xix. 10, 24, 32), while still farther north, 
near the sources of the Jordan, was the town of Dan. 

(4) Eastern Group. East of the Jordan were Reuben on the 
south (Deut. iii. 16), Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh (Deut. 

iii- 13). . 

The tribe of Levi was not allotted a portion of the land. Being 
devoted to the offices connected with the priesthood it was supported 
by the tithes and offerings of the whole people. Cities for the resi- 
dence of the Levites, however, were assigned them from the lots of 
the tribes (Josh. xx.). Chief among these were the six cities of 
refuge, three on the east (Bezer, Ramoth, Golan), and three on the 
west side of the Jordan (Kedesh, Shechem, Hebron). 

4. The Days of the Kings. Under the kings of Israel and Judah 
the land was partitioned, the line of separation being on or near the 
old division line between Benjamin and Ephraim. At times this line 
shifted, so that Bethel, which at first belonged to the northern king- 
dom, was in later times found within the limits of the southern king- 
dom! Moab was tributary to Israel (2 Kings iii. 4), and Edom to 
Judah (1 Kings xii. 17; 2 Kings viii. 20). 

5. New Testament Days. In New Testament times the country 
was divided into the three provinces of Galilee, Samaria and Judea, 
already described, on the west side of the Jordan, and Bashan and 
Perea on the east. 



QUESTIONS 

1. What do we know of the inhabitants of prehistoric Palestine? 

2. Name the six tribes in possession of the land immediately pre- 
ceding the conquest. 

3. Who were — 

(1) The Canaanites? (4) The Hivites? 

(2) The Hittites? (5) The Perizzites? 

(3) The Amorites? (6) The Jebusites? 



HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY 135 

4. What was the home of the Amalekites ? the Moabites ? the Am- 
monites? the Gileadites? 

5. How was the land divided among the Twelve Tribes? 

6. How was the land divided in the days of the kings of Israel 
and Judah? 

7. How was the land divided in New Testament times? 



LESSON XXXV 

Institutions of the Old Testament 

A knowledge of the fundamental religious institutions of Israel is 
necessary to an understanding of many things in the Bible. The wor- 
ship of Israel centered in the altar and the priesthood — the place and 
the agent of sacrifice. Sacrifice was the most important transaction 
of primitive worship. The idea appears at the dawn of history 
(Gen. iv. 3). The first essential for such an offering was a place of 
sacrifice, which thus became a meeting-place between God and the 
worshiper. 

I. PLACE 

1. The Altar. The origin of the altar is buried in antiquity. The 
first reference in the Bible is to the altar of Noah (Gen. viii. 20), 
but it does not appear that he created the institution. Altars were 
erected by Abraham (Gen. xii. 7, 8; xiii. 4, 18; xxii. 9), by Isaac 
(Gen. xxvi. 25) and by Jacob (Gen. xxxiii. 20; xxxv. 7) prior to 
the establishment of the Mosaic economy. Naturally, the altar was 
the place of worship for an individual, or at most a tribe ; but when 
Israel grew to be a nation of twelve tribes, an expansion of the 
altar was necessary. This was made by Moses under divine direc- 
tion (Ex. xxv., xxvi.). 

2. The Tabernacle, also called "the tent of testimony" (Num. 



GROUND PLAN OF TABERNACLE. 
NOETH. 






m. 



rx 



Veranda or Porch. 5 Cubits. 



Holy 




of 


Holy Place. 


Holies. 


20x10. 


10x10. 





Open Veranda or Porch. 5 Cubits. 



I. Outer Court. 
50x50. 



Laver. 

o 



Altar 



of 



Burnt Offerings. 



m 

u 
o 



p 

© 
to 



100 Cubits or 150 Feet. 



SOUTH. 



U36) 



O 

a 
a 
u 

a 



+ 



INSTITUTIONS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 137 

ix. 15), was designed for the purpose of Israel's worship while 
wandering in the wilderness, so constructed that it could easily be 
transported, housing the Ark of the Covenant, which contained the 
written Law and was a sign of the Divine Presence. It consisted 
of three main parts, the Outer Court, the Sanctuary and the Holy 
of Holies — together with the necessary implements of worship (Ex. 
xxvii. to xxxviii.). 

3. After Israel had become a settled people the Temple was built 
in the capital of the nation as an enlarged and permanent addition of 
the Tabernacle, which was then laid aside and treasured up in the 
Temple chambers. The first Temple was built by Solomon on 
Mount Moriah about 1000 B. C This was destroyed by Nebuchad- 
nezzar in 587 B. C, but rebuilt under Zerubbabel and finished in 
515 B. C. Having become dilapidated in the course of the centuries 
Herod the Great undertook to restore it with great magnificence, 
20 B. C. It was fully completed in 65 A. D., only five years before 
its final destruction. 

4. The Synagogue was the creation of the captivity and was not 
unlike our modern church. It was a place of meeting, as the ety- 
mology of the word suggests. "Wherever ten Jewish heads of 
families could be found a synagogue could be established. There 
were four hundred and sixty synagogues in Jerusalem; and every 
nationality of Jews had its own" (Acts vi. 9). 

II. THE PRIESTHOOD 

A fundamental institution of the worship of Israel was the priest- 
hood. According to the law of Moses sacrifices could not be offered 
upon the altar except by the priests, nor in any other place than the 
court of God's sanctuary, the Tabernacle and afterwards the Temple 
(Deut. xii. 5-28). The priesthood was not an order or a caste, as 
with other nations, but a tribe— the tribe of Levi (Num. viii. 5-11). 
The first chief priest was the chief of that tribe, and is called, be- 
yond any other name, Aaron the Levite. All the male descendants 
of Aaron were priests, the firstborn of the whole family, in continual 
succession, bearing the still higher dignity of High Priest (Ex. xxix. 
1-35). In the decline of Israel this sacred institution was tampered 
with and corrupted by subjugating powers. 

III. SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS 

Sacrifice was the special means by which Israel was to realize its 
peculiar relation to Jehovah. The sacrifices prescribed in the ritual 
of Moses were of five kinds, four animal or bloody sacrifices and 



138 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

one meal offering. The former expressed the idea of atonement, 
the latter of thanksgiving. 

i. The Burnt Offering. In the Levitical system the burnt offering 
occupied the chief place. It consisted of the daily sacrifice, morning 
and evening, in the temple, of the spotless lamb. It was also called 
"the whole burnt offering" because all the flesh was consumed by 
fire on the altar. It expressed worship in the widest sense, praise 
for past mercies and the consecration of the worshiper to God (Lev. 
i. 2-9). Its essential feature was the consumption of the victim by 
fire upon the altar. The individual burnt offering was an animal or 
bird, according to the ability of the offerer. 

2. The Sin Offering was altogether expiatory, and was to be pre- 
sented in case of transgression. It was in a sense voluntary and 
expressed the offerer's knowledge of and faith in the means of 
reconciliation. It was not limited to an individual, but a whole 
congregation could offer a sin offering. The animal was slain and 
burned without the camp and its blood sprinkled by the priest on the 
altar of incense in the Holy Place (Lev. iv. 3-7). 

3. The Trespass Offering (R. V., "guilt offering") resembled the 
sin offering, being also altogether expiatory and for particular of- 
fences. When these offences were committed the offering could not 
be withheld without penalty. Trespass offerings were never offered 
for the whole congregation. The victim was commonly a ram, 
which was slain and burned on the altar (Lev. v. 1-10). 

4. The Peace Offering was presented, as we learn from Lev. vii. 
11-20, either in thankfulness for some special mercy received, or in 
the way of supplication for some special mercy desired. The vic- 
tim could be any animal used for sacrifice. The offering was di- 
vided into three parts: the fat was burned on the altar, the breast 
and right shoulder were eaten by the priest, the remainder was 
eaten by the worshiper and his friends. 

5. The Meat Offering (R. V., "meal offering") was commonly 
added to the Peace Offering (Lev. vii. 12, 13) and consisted of vege- 
table food which was shared between the priest and the offerer. A 
meat offering and a drink offering usually accompanied the bloody 
sacrifices (Num. xv. 1-12). 

In addition to these prescribed sacrifices there were offerings of 
Firstfruits, Firstborn, Tithes, Vow-gifts, etc. 

IV. SACRED TIMES AND FEASTS 

The Hebrews observed a number of sacred times and feasts. 



INSTITUTIONS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 139 

There was the daily morning and evening sacrifice (Ex. xxix. 38- 
42). There was the weekly Sabbath, or day of rest (Ex. xx. 8-11). 
There was the monthly New Moon (Num. x. 10), observed as a 
Sabbath. There was the Sabbatical Year (Lev. xxv. 2-7), observed 
as a year of rest for the ground as well as for man and beast. There 
was the Year of Jubilee (Lev. xxv. 9, 10), or Sabbath of Sab- 
batical years, when slaves were set free, debts forgiven and for- 
feited inheritances recovered. And there were the Seven Annual 
Solemnities: 

1. The Feast of the Passover (Ex. xii. 1-28), in the spring, on 
the fourteenth day of the month Nisan, commemorating the deliver- 
ance from Egyptian bondage, observed with the eating of unleav- 
ened bread and a slain lamb. 

2. The Feast of Pentecost (Lev. xxiii. 15-21), in the early sum- 
mer, on the fiftieth day after the Passover, commemorating the giv- 
ing of the law (Ex. xix. 1-11), observed with the laying of the first- 
fruits on the altar. 

3. The Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. xxiii. 34~44), in the fall, com- 
memorating the outdoor life of the wilderness, observed by living in 
huts or booths. 

4. The Day of Atonement Ex. xxx. 10), in the fall, five days 
before the Feast of Tabernacles, when the high priest entered into 
the Holy of Holies. 

5. The Feast of Trumpets (Lev. xxiii. 24), the first day of the 
seventh month, "New Year Day," observed with the blowing of 
trumpets. 

6. The Feast of Dedication (John x. 22), commemorating the 
rededication of the temple under Judas Maccabeus, 166 B. C, after 
its defilement by the Syrians. 

7. The Feast of Purim (Esther ix. 17-32), commemorating Queen 
Esther's deliverance of the Jewish people. 



140 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

QUESTIONS 

1. What is the significance of the altar? 

2. What was the origin of the Tabernacle? 

3. What was the origin of the Temple? 

4. How many temples did the Hebrews have? 

5. What was the origin of the Synagogue? 

6. Who were the priests? 

7. What were the chief offerings prescribed by the law of Moses? 

8. What were the sacred times observed? 

9. Which were the three great feasts of Israel? 
10. How was the Day of Atonement observed? 



LESSON XXXVI 

Institutions of the New Testament 

The institutions of the New Testament were few and simple. 
He who blotted out the handwriting of ordinances and established 
the new covenant left His followers large liberty in organizing 
themselves as a Christian community. The chief institutions to be 
noted here are the Church, Church Officers, Sacred Rites and 
Sacred Days. 

I. THE CHURCH 

The first New Testament institution is the Church. Jesus Christ 
Himself founded the Church on the confession of the Apostles 
(Matt. xvi. 18). Just before His ascension He gave them His 
great commission (Matt, xxviii. 18-20). He is the Head, and the 
Church is His body (Col. i. 18). Jesus Christ did not Himself 
organize His Church, or leave a formula of government. He did 
not give explicit directions during the forty days between His 
resurrection and ascension, as the Church of Rome claims. That 
task He left to His apostles ; and so far as the Church took form 
under their guidance it is of divine authority for all time; e.g., in 
the fixing of the Christian Sabbath. The characteristic of the 
Apostolic Church was the richness and fullness of its spiritual gifts. 
The Church started as a society at Jerusalem which worshiped 
where it could. The name "church" is now given also to the build- 
ing in which Christians worship, but it was not so used in the 
New Testament. Neither the government of the Church nor its 
place of worship was a matter of divine inspiration. The building 
which was finally adopted as affording the best model was not a 
temple, Jewish or heathen, but the Roman basilica or town hall. 

II. CHURCH OFFICERS 

There was a twofold class of offices in the Apostolic Church, one 
general, the other local. They are enumerated in Eph. iv. 11 ; apos- 
tles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, and in Phil. i. 1 ; 
bishops (literally "overseers," the same as "elders," elsewhere 
called "presbyters," (cf. Acts xx. 17 with 28), and deacons. 

(141) 



142 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

1. The general church officers, or those having no fixed residence 
and belonging to the whole Church in their ministry, are: 

(i) Apostles. The apostles were called directly by Christ and 
were His personal representatives (Matt. x. 1-4). This name was 
given them by Christ Himself. They received special instruction 
from Him in private, were given authority to cast out devils and 
heal the sick (Matt. x. 8), and after Pentecost to communicate the 
Holy Spirit to believers (Acts viii. 18, xix. 6). But their chief 
qualification was that they were witnesses of the risen Christ (Acts 
i. 22, ii. 24, 32, iii. 15, 26, iv. 10, v. 30-32, x. 40, 41, xiii. 30"33r xvii. 
3, 18, 31, xxii. 15, xxv. 8, 23, 1 Cor. ix. 1, xv. 3-8). The names of the 
original twelve are : Peter and Andrew his brother ; James the son 
of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew (prob- 
ably Nathaniel) ; Thomas and Matthew ; James the son of Alphaeus, 
and Thaddseus (Lebbaeus or Jude) ; Simon the Canaanite, and 
Judas Iscariot. The place of Judas was filled by the Church's elec- 
tion of Matthias (Acts i. 15 fi\), and Paul was specially called. 

(2) Prophets. The prophet formed a great link between the Old 
Testament and the New. The Forerunner of the Gospel was a 
prophet; the birth of Christ took place in an atmosphere of 
prophecy; and Jesus Himself was regarded by the people as a 
prophet. It is not strange, therefore, that the office of prophecy 
should continue for a time in the Christian Church. The whole 
Church (Acts ii. 46) was at first endowed with prophetic gifts; 
but afterwards the name came to be applied to a class of exhorters 
who visited the churches and usually associated with the apostles 
(Eph. ii. 20, iii. 5, iv. 11; Acts xi. 28, xxi. 10). 

(3) Evangelists. Besides bearing witness to the resurrection in 
particular the apostles had the general duty of evangelizing those 
who had not yet heard the Word (Acts v. 42). This work was 
later shared by others— Philip, Paul, Barnabas — and those who 
thus excelled in missionary work were called evangelists. 

2. The local church officers were pastors (shepherds) and 
teachers, who had care of the individual congregations. Another 
designation for the local overseers of the congregation was pres- 
byter-bishop ("presbyter" comes from the Jewish synagogue; 
"bishop" {ekickootts) is a Gentile word and means "overseer," "bur- 
gess of the city"). Then deacons were appointed when the work 
of the elders (presbyter-bishop) became too heavy, who were to 
minister to the sick and the poor, and sometimes perform the 
higher offices of the ministry. Then when the need of a female 



INSTITUTIONS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 143 

order of helpers was felt we read of a deaconess (Rom. xvi. i), 
which in time became a regular order. 

III. RITES 

Two sacred rites (we call them Sacraments, see the new Book 
III) were practiced in the Christian Church from the beginning, 
viz. : Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Both were instituted by our 
Lord (Matt, xxviii. 19; xxvi. 26-28). Baptism was the sacrament 
of initiation into the Christian body (Acts ii. 41) ; the Lord's Supper 
was the sacrament of brotherhood and was celebrated when Chris- 
tians assembled for worship, at first daily, later only on the Lord's 
Day. The elements of bread and wine were consecrated to their 
sacramental use by a prayer of thanksgiving (1 Cor. xi. 24) to- 
gether with a recital of the words of institution. Confession of sin 
was recommended (Jas. v. 16) and the charism of healing the 
sick was performed by prayer and anointing with oil (Jas. v. 14). 

IV. SACRED DAYS 

At first the disciples, following the example of their Lord, ob- 
served the Sabbath (Mark iii. 1), but after the resurrection, because 
Jesus arose on this day (Matt, xxviii. 1-7) and on this day fre- 
quently appeared to His disciples (Matt, xxviii. 10; Mark xvi. 9-14; 
Luke xxiv. 13-49; John xx. 19-29) and because on this day the 
Holy Spirit was poured out upon the Church (Acts ii.), the apostles 
adopted the first day of the week as the Christian Sabbath. Jew- 
ish Christians, like Paul, kept Pentecost; but there is no trace of 
the observance of other festivals in the New Testament. 



144 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

QUESTIONS 

i. Why are there few institutions in the New Testament? 

2. Name the chief institutions. 

3. Is any form of church government of divine inspiration? 

4. In what sense has the Apostolic Church divine authority? 

5. What twofold class of church officers was there in the New 
Testament Church? 

6. What were the Apostles? 

7. What were the Prophets? 

8. What were the Evangelists? 

9. What officers had the local churches? 

10. What were the elders, the bishops, the deacons? 

11. What female order is referred to in the New Testament? 

12. What religious rites were practiced by the New Testament 
Church ? 

13. What sacred days were observed? 



LESSON XXXVII 

Language and External Form 

i. It is, of course, well known that the original Bible was not 
written in English. All Bible readers are familiar with the fact 
that the books, or rolls, of the Old Testament Scriptures were 
written in Hebrew,* and the books, or rolls, of the New Testament 
in Greek. At once we eagerly ask, Are any of these original manu- 
scripts in existence? But we are doomed to disappointment. All 
of the original documents have been lost. 

2. Until the invention of printing in the fifteenth century the only 
mode of transmitting ancient books was by the slow and laborious 
process of copying one manuscript from another. Just in what 
form the Old Testament Scriptures were committed to writing we 
do not know. In the time of Moses, Eastern peoples engraved their 
literature on stones or on clay tablets, which were baked. Many of 
these are preserved intact for us to-day. But we have no evidence 
that any of the Old Testament was thus written, unless there is 
significance in the form in which the Decalogue was preserved 
(Ex. xxxiv. i). There is evidence that the Old Testament writers 
used some perishable material, such as papyrus (Jer. xxxvi. 2, 
23; Ezek. iii. 2). "As prepared by the Egyptians," Dr. Price tells 
us, "the book of the papyrus reed became an elegant light paper, 
but with dampness and moisture it soon perished." After papyrus 
came vellum, made of the skins of animals, usually the antelope, and 
the earliest manuscripts of Scripture which we possess are of this 
kind. Long rolls of vellum were made for the several books, the 
reader unwinding one roller with one hand while winding up the 
other with the other hand as he read along. This seems to have 
been the form of books in the time of Christ. But all the oldest 
manuscripts which have been preserved are in the form of leaves, 
showing a later date. 

3. Books perish in the using, and the early documents of Script- 
ure perished. Fire, water, wars and persecutions, to say nothing 

^ The following three sections were written m Aramaic, viz.: Jer. x. 11; Dan. 
11. 4 to vii. 28; Ezra iv. 8 to vi. 18. 

10 (145) 



146 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

of the corroding finger of time in quiet days, or the custom of the 
Jews reverently to bury their precious parchments when these be- 
came frail through use, will account for the disappearance of these 
precious treasures. By the time the New Testament was written the 
original documents of the Old had all disappeared, while the original 
documents of the New Testament have long since perished. 

That sounds alarming, but we must remember that, so far as is 
known, we do not have the original manuscript of any ancient 
classic. For the preservation of the priceless treasures of ancient 
Greek and Roman literature the world is dependent upon copies 
made many centuries after the originals were written * 

4. So it will be seen that we are by no means on uncertain ground 
when we say that we have the original Scriptures. There are 
many more manuscripts of the Bible than of any other book in 
the world. It is quite impossible to say exactly how many there are 
altogether, for they are widely scattered. Some are in the great 
public libraries, others are in private possession. Dr. Gasper's 
library alone is said to contain some eight hundred manuscripts of 
the Old Testament, while a very high authority (Scrivener's "Intro- 
duction," 1894) says there are about four thousand New Testament 
manuscripts. All the manuscripts known may be conveniently cata- 
logued in these three classes : 

(1) Hebrew Manuscripts of the Old Testament. The oldest re- 
garded as authentic is now in the Imperial Library at St. Peters- 
burg. It bears the date of 916 A. D., but it contains only the 
Prophets. The oldest manuscript containing the entire Old Testa- 
ment is the "Codex Laudianus," Bodleian Library, Oxford, and 
dates from 1010 A. D. 

(2) Greek Manuscripts of the New Testament. Of these, 
three are invested with peculiar interest: 

(a) The Vatican manuscript, said to be the oldest of all existing 
documents. It is in the Vatican Library at Rome, where it has been 
for the last five hundred years. It consists of about seven hundred 
leaves of the finest vellum, and is beautifully written. It lacks Gen. 

* "Few manuscripts of the Greek or Roman classics are older than the ninth 
or tenth century. The Medicean manuscript of Virgil is of the fourth century; 
the Vatican manuscript of Dion Cassius is of the fifth; the oldest manuscripts 
of yEschylus and Sophocles date from the tenth, those of Euripides' from the 
twelfth, those of the 'Annals of Tacitus' from the eleventh. The oldest copy 
of Homer is from the thirteenth, though the Harris fragments in the British 
Museum are of a far earlier date. Of the 'Meditations' of the Emperor Marcus 
Aurelius only one complete copy is known to exist, and it has no title." Schaff. 



LANGUAGE AND EXTERNAL FORM 147 

i. to xlvi., Ps. cv. to cxxxvii., and all after Heb. ix. Since the 
time of Pope Pius IX. it has been accessible to scholars in an 
excellent facsimile. 

(b) The Sinaitic, which takes its name from the fact that it was 
rescued from the monks in the Convent of St. Catharine, at the 
foot of Mount Sinai, by Dr. Tischendorf. "In visiting the library 
of the convent in the month of May, 1844, he perceived in the 
middle of the great hall a basketful of old parchments, and the 
librarian told him that two heaps of similar old documents had 
already been used for the fires. What was his surprise to find in 
the basket a number of sheets of a copy of a Septuagint (Greek) 
Old Testament, the most ancient looking manuscript he had ever 
seen! The authorities of the convent allowed him to take away 
about forty sheets."— Smyth. Finally, in 1859, through the influ- 
ence of the Tsar of Russia, Dr. Tischendorf got possession of the 
manuscript as we now have it, written most beautifully and care- 
fully on the skins of a hundred antelopes. While there are many 
omissions in the Old Testament, the New Testament is perfect; 
not a leaf is gone. It is now in the possession of the head of 
the Greek Church at St. Petersburg. 

(c) The Alexandrian manuscript is in the British Museum, 
London, the treasure of Protestant Christianity. This manuscript 
lacks ten leaves of the Old Testament and several of the New 
Testament. It bears the inscription in Arabic on the first sheet "by 
the hand of Thekla the Martyr." It was presented to Charles I. in 
1628— seventeen years too late to be of service in preparing the 
Authorized Version— by Cyril Lucar, a Greek patriarch of Alex- 
andria; hence its name. This is the third oldest document in the 
possession of the Church. 

(3) Early Translations, or Versions. A version of the Bible is 
a translation into some other than the original language. 

The earliest version of the Bible committed to writing was the 
Septuagint, which was made, or at least begun, sometime in the 
reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, 285-247 B. C. The tradition is that 
it was the work of seventy scholars of Alexandria; hence its name, 
Septuagint being a Latin word meaning "seventy." Though the 
translation is faulty in many respects, it has had a large influence 
on our modern Bible. It is from it that we have our present titles 
of the books of the Old Testament, while the order in which the 
books are arranged, quite different from that of the original He- 
brew Scriptures, established the order in our English Bible. The 



148 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

earliest copies of the Septuagint in our possession are those in 
connection with the Greek New Testament manuscripts referred to 
in the preceding paragraph. 

The next version in point of time is the Syriac, which is assigned 
to the second century, A. D.— a version representing very nearly 
the language of the people among whom our Lord moved. To the 
same century the beginning of the Latin Version is assigned, and 
to that or the following century belongs the Egyptian version. 
We have also Ethiopic and Armenian versions from those early 
centuries. These are the earliest versions of the Bible, and they 
are succeeded by numberless others up to the present time. The 
best known is the revision of the Latin version by Jerome, called 
the Vulgate, at the close of the fourth century, the significance of 
the same being that it was in the language of the common people. 
"No other work," says Smyth, "has ever had such an influence on 
the history of the Bible. For more than a thousand years it was 
the parent of every version of the Scriptures in western Europe. It 
is the version of the Catholic Church to this day." 

The remarkable thing about our English Bible is that so few 
errors are in it. When it is remembered that the entire Scriptures 
in their original language were multiplied by the tedious process of 
copying by hand— sometimes a hundred scribes writing from one 
dictation— and that the Hebrew language as originally written was 
all in consonants without any divisions between the words* and 
that in both Hebrew and Greek there are pairs of letters which so 
resemble each other that a careless stroke might lead to confusion, 
it is truly a matter for gratitude that our heavenly Father has so 
carefully guarded the Book He has given His children. 



QUESTIONS 

1. In what languages were the original Scriptures written? 

2. Do we possess any of the original manuscripts of the Bible? 

Why not? 

3. What was the form of books in the time of Christ? 

4. In what form are the earliest manuscripts we possess? 

5. Are there many manuscripts of the Bible? 

* Collett thus illustrates this: it is as if we should write the Lord's Prayer— 
RFTHRWHCHRTNHVNHLLWDBTHNM, etc. 



LANGUAGE AND EXTERNAL FORM 149 

6. What three classes of these manuscripts are there? 

7. What is the oldest manuscript of the Old Testament? 

8. What is the oldest manuscript of the New Testament? 

9. What is the oldest version of the Bible? The most widely 
known ? 

10. What is the miracle of our English Bible? 



LESSON XXXVIII 

Our English Bible 

i. The Latin Vulgate was England's first Bible. It was taken to 
England by the early Christian missionaries who came from Rome. 
It was from this version that the English Psalter of the Prayer 
Book was made. The Vulgate continued in use in England until 
Wycliffe's Bible, 1382 A. D. There were, however, several previous 
attempts to give the people the substance of the Scriptures in their 
own (Anglo-Saxon) tongue. The first to attempt it was Caedman, 
who was an untutored cowherd of Northumbria. One winter night, 
so the story goes, about the year 700 A. D., as he lay asleep in the 
stable of the famous Abbey of Whitby, a voice came to him and 
bade him sing. He had left the feasts of his people because he 
could make no song when the harp was passed to him, and he 
replied, "I cannot sing; for this cause I came in hither." "Yet," 
said He who stood before him, "shalt thou sing to me." He sang 
of creation and of the Saviour of men. His song— a sort of para- 
phrase of Scripture— is in blank verse, and some of it remains to 
the present day. 

2. About the same time, in South England, a bard by the name of 
Eadhelm, or Aldhelm, later a bishop, was similarly at work. He 
knew that the people did not care for sermons, so, attired as a 
minstrel, he took his stand where people passed by and sang them 
the messages of the Bible. He was the first to translate the Psalms 
into English. Eadhelm died in the year 709 A. D. A more famous 
name in the work of bringing the Bible to the people in their own 
tongue is that of the venerable scholar Bede (674-735 A. D.). Bede 
was a monk who gave himself to the arduous task of translating 
the Scriptures— the first pure translator— but none of his work 
escaped the ravages of time. 

3. The next translator was Alfred the Great (849-901 A. D.), 
who not only incorporated the Ten Commandments into the laws of 
England, but translated, or had translated, other portions of Script- 
ure. In Alfred's Bible the Lord's Prayer reads thus : "Uren Fader 
dhic in heofnas, sie gehalged dhin noma," etc. 

Nothing more of importance was done in the way of Bible 
translation for some hundreds of years. There was little leisure 

(150) 



OUR ENGLISH BIBLE 151 

for scholarship during the invasion of the British Isles then going 
on. In 1066 A. D. came the Norman conquest, and Anglo-Saxon 
gave place to English. Not until the thirteenth century do we find 
anything more of interest concerning the Bible. In 1250 A. D. 
the Bible was first divided into chapters by Cardinal Hugo, the 
division of the chapters into verses not being made until three cen- 
turies later. 

4. The first translation of the Bible into English was made by 
John Wycliffe, "the morning-star of the Reformation" (1320-1384 
A. D.), who combined a professorship in Oxford University with a 
humble country parish, that he might keep in touch with the needs 
of the people. His Bible appeared in 1382. The Lord's Prayer in 
Wycliffe's Bible reads thus : "Oure fadir that art in heuenes, halwid 
be thi name, thi kingdom comme to, be thi wille done as in heuen so 
in erthe; gif to us this day oure breed ouer other substance; and 
forgeue to us our dettis as we forgeue to oure dettours, and leede 
us not in to temptacioun but delyuere us fro yuel" (Matt. vi. 9-13). 
Wycliffe's Bible was divided into chapters according to Cardinal 
Hugo's arrangement, but not into verses, which came a hundred 
and fifty years later. Bibles were still copied by hand in Wycliffe's 
day, and it took nearly a year to make a copy, which cost about 
$200.00. "There was no open vision in those days." People who 
were too poor to own a copy of the Scriptures used to pay large 
sums to be permitted to read it an hour a day, and it is said that a 
load of hay was sometimes given for a few pages. The reading of 
this English Bible was afterwards forbidden under penalty of 
death. Forty years after Wycliffe's death the Roman Catholic 
authorities dug up his bones and burned them, scattering the ashes 
on the River Swift. 

5. After Wycliffe there was an interval of a hundred years 
before the next great version of the Bible appeared. Meanwhile 
many things had happened which affected the history of the Bible. 
"About twenty years after the death of Wycliffe there was living 
in the old German town of Mainz a boy bearing the not very 
attractive name of Johann Gensfleisch, which means, put into plain 
English, John Gooseflesh. One morning, so runs the story, he had 
been cutting the letters of his name out of the bark of a tree, and 
having been left alone in the house soon after, amused himself by 
spreading out the letters on a board so as to form again the words, 

Soijarcn 0$engf leiacf). 



152 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

A pot of purple dye was beside the fire, and by some awkward turn 
one of his letters dropped into it. Quickly, without stopping to 
think, he snatched it out of the boiling liquid, and as quickly let it 
drop again, this time on a white dressed skin which lay on a pot 
nearby, the result being a beautiful purple 'h' — the first printed let- 
ter." — Smyth. Whatever truth there may be in the legend, it is 
certain that Gutenberg's printing press was working in 1450, and 
the first complete book that was issued from it was a copy of the 
Latin Bible, known as the Mazarin Bible, from the fact that a copy 
of it was found about a century ago in Cardinal Mazarin's library, 
Paris. 

6. With the advent of the printing press the Bible took wings. 
Before the end of the fifteenth century there were issued in Europe 
about eighty editions of the Latin Bible. And, what is very much 
more significant, there were versions circulating in the following 
languages: German, Italian, French, Danish, Russian, Slavonic, 
Bohemian and Spanish. In 15 16, Erasmus, a noted scholar of Hol- 
land, published a Greek Testament from the ancient manuscripts. 
In September, 1522, the first installment of Luther's German Bible 
appeared (called the Septemberbibel). It was a translation of the 
New Testament from the Greek of Erasmus. Five thousand copies 
of it were printed and sold before the December of that same year. 
One printer in Wittenberg printed 100,000 copies on his press. A 
printer in Basel published seven editions between 1522 and 1525; 
another, of the same city, five editions between 1523 and 1525. The 
precious little volume, which contains the message of salvation, 
made its way with lightning rapidity into the palaces of princes, the 
castles of knights, the convents of monks, the houses of burghers 
and the huts of peasants. In those days the word of God "had 
free course, and was glorified." 

7. Luther's translation of the Old Testament from the original 
Hebrew followed and was completed by 1534. And so, "in a rela- 
tively short time the most epoch-making work of modern times came 
to light." This was not the first German Bible, but it was the most 
popular, and it has proved the most influential book ever published 
in the German language, leading to the predominance of one dialect 
throughout the land. "In giving the Germans their Bible Luther 
gave the German language a permanent literary form, and, upon a 
basis of a common language replacing the confusion of dialects 
that had before been current, unified the German people."— -Jacobs. 



OUR ENGLISH BIBLE 153 

QUESTIONS 

i. What was England's first Bible? 

2. What early attempts were made to give the English people the 
Scriptures in their own tongue? 

3. What did Bede accomplish? 

4. What did Alfred the Great accomplish? 

5. What did Wycliffe accomplish? 

6. Who invented printing? 

7. What effect had printing on the Bible? 

8. What importance attaches to Luther's German Bible? 



LESSON XXXIX 
Our English Bible.— Continued 

1. In 1470 William Caxton introduced the printing press into 
England, but the first book printed on it was not an English, but a 
Hebrew Bible. The first printed English Bible was that of Tyndale. 
William Tyndale was born in 1484. He was a student in the Uni- 
versity of Cambridge when Erasmus came there to lecture, and 
Tyndale soon mastered his Greek Testament. He could not keep 
his treasure to himself. His mind took fire with the purpose of 
disseminating a knowledge of the Scriptures. One day at the table 
of a gentleman of whose son he was tutor, in discussion with an 
ignorant churchman, he made the startling announcement, "If God 
spare me I will one day make the boy that drives the plow in 
England to know more of Scripture than the Pope does." 

2. The story of the publication of Tyndale's English Testament 
is one of the tragedies in the history of the Bible. He was perse- 
cuted by the Church authorities at home and abroad. Denied any 
help in England, in 1524 he went to the continent, thinking that in 
the free city of Hamburg he could pursue his purpose without 
molestation. Here, in poverty and distress, and amid constant 
danger of betrayal, the brave exile worked on; and so successful 
was he that in 1525 he carried his completed translation to Cologne 
for publication. The work was discovered through the cunning of 
a priest, and Tyndale made his way with the sheets of his Testament 
to Worms, already made sacred by Luther's trial. Here the work 
was printed, and through the aid of English merchants copies were 
smuggled into England, where they were eagerly bought and read. 
Every effort was made by the Catholics, however, to prevent this 
Testament from getting into the hands of the people. Thousands 
of copies were seized and destroyed. Tyndale never dared return 
to his native land. In 1536 he was seized at Antwerp by officers of 
Charles V., summarily tried and sentenced to death. At the^stake 
his last words were, "Lord, open the king of England's eyes." He 
was then strangled and burned. His prayer was nearer its answer 
than he dreamed. Within a year the English Bibles of Coverdale 

(154) 



OUR ENGLISH BIBLE— CONTINUED 155 

and Matthews were recognized and authorized by the same king of 
England, Henry VIII. 

3. Tyndale had not lived to complete the translation of the Old 
Testament, but now, under royal sanction, the people of England 
were given the Scriptures in their spoken tongue. This edition 
contained the apocryphal books, omitted from our modern Bibles. 
It is Coverdale's version of the Psalms, translated from Jerome's 
revision of the Vulgate, which is found in the Psalter of the Church 
of England Prayer Book. 

4. In 1539 appeared the "Great Bible," so called from its size, the 
work of Coverdale and others under the authority of the king, for 
use in the churches. Because it was chained to the reading desk 
for safe keeping it was also known as the "Chained Bible." This 
was the first Authorized Version of the Bible. 

5. During the brief reign of Edward VI. the Bible was printed 
and read at liberty, but with the accession of Bloody Mary, a violent 
and cruel Romanist, the printing, importation and circulation of the 
Bible were all prohibited. About this time (1551) the New Testa- 
ment was first divided into verses. Riding from Geneva to Paris 
on horseback Sir Robert Stevens divided the chapters of his Greek 
Testament into substantially the same verses that we have in our 
English Bible. One edition of the New Testament appeared in 
Mary's reign, in spite of her persecution — the first to be divided into 
verses. 

6. In 1560 a very important edition of the Bible appeared, the 
"Geneva Bible," so called because it had been prepared by the re- 
formers who had fled to Geneva during the persecutions under Mary 
— a very valuable English version because translated from the orig- 
inal Hebrew and Greek. This was the first Bible in which italics 
were used to indicate words which are not in the original. It was 
also the first whole Bible to be divided into verses. 

7. A great change, however, had taken place in England, under 
Queen Elizabeth, who inaugurated her long and prosperous reign 
by pressing to her lips and heart a copy of the Bible. In 1568, under 
her patronage, the "Bishops' Bible" — the work of her bishops — 
appeared, but as it was a very expensive book, costing about $80.00 
of our money, and was not a very good translation, it never at- 
tained any considerable popularity. In 1582 the New Testament 
was issued in English by the Roman Catholics at their English 
Seminary at Rheims. In 1610 their translation of the Old Testa- 
ment was finished at Douay, whither the Seminary had been re- 



156 LUTHERAN TEACHER-TRAINING SERIES 

moved, and their completed Bible, known as the "Douay Bible," 
was published. 

8. There were now so many versions of the English Bible as to 
be confusing. Besides, many words had undergone a change of 
meaning since these Bibles had been printed. Accordingly, under 
the patronage of King James I., fifty-four translators, including 
High Churchmen, Puritans, and the best scholars in the land, under- 
took the task, sitting in sections at Westminster, Oxford and Cam- 
bridge — six in all, two at each place. In 1611, after about five 
years of continuous work, the Authorized Version appeared. It 
would seem, indeed, as if Providence had directed the work, for so 
well done was it that the King James version is only now being 
superseded in our churches. 

9. The discovery of certain valuable ancient manuscripts, like the 
Codex Sinaiticus in 1844, stirred up scholars to improve our English 
version of King James. In consequence, in 1870, under the leader- 
ship of the Church of England, a convocation of nearly one hun- 
dred men of different denominations — the best scholars to be found 
in England and America — was called at Westminster Abbey. For 
over ten years they labored at their work, until, in 1881, the revised 
New Testament was published. In 1885 the whole Revised Version 
of the Bible was published. In 1901 the Americans published the 
American Revision, containing their preferences in disputed read- 
ings where their English colleagues had overruled them. The 
American Revision is considered the best translation of the Script- 
ures ever made. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What was the first printed English Bible? 

2. Tell the story of Tyndale's work on the Bible. 

3. For what is the "Great Bible" noted? 

4. How did the Bible fare under Bloody Mary? 
; 5. When was the Bible divided into verses? 

6. For what is the "Geneva Bible" noted? 

7. What was Queen Elizabeth's attitude to the Bible? 

8. What is the history of the Authorized Version? 

9. What is the history of the Revised Version? 





W 


03 


2 o 


r! 53 


• 

X! 




Q 
»— » 
h 

o 


< 

a 


03 1 — > 

tn 

X! 03 03 


aziah. 
Amazia! 

tham, a 


03 
N 






*a 2 03^ «-s 






O 


03 
O 


• c 




£ 


J2 


03' 3*3 ^ 


CXlJlXl ^ 03 03 03 03 03 

rrt 00 C/) c/l ^u tin «ih *«h itH .ih 
2o3o3o3pNNNNN 


ol « 




i— i 


O 


OT « W W 




W 


.0, 


<Jo3o3o3o3o3o3y2 






p^ 


<<<<i<<^ 


to 


< 












• 




,G 









to 
H 




03 


a 






w 

o 

Ph 




03 


< 






• 

-C 
e c3 

Xi 


:hu. 

lijah— Mi 
lisha. 


T3 
53 
03 

J o3 

CO n3 








< 


^ WW 


►°K O 






fe 








1— 1 


o . 






to . 




XI 


S2 


to 
u 

03 




+2 ±2 w 

c c >-■ 
- - - - O O rt - ~ 


s* 


h— 1 

Q 


WP4 


CD 

cn 


o3 CD 


aa£ 

CO t^VO H MD H O CM O 


0\ 


W 

Oh 


OJ 


CS M CN M 


CN M M Tj" M CN 






t— \ 




• 

t— t 
t-H 




<5 


to 



O 

PQ 
O 
P4 

w 

• — » 


Nadab. 

Baasha. 

Elah. 

Zimri. 

Omri. 

AHAB. 

Ahaziah. 

Jehoram. 


JEHU. 

Jehoahaz. 

Joash. 

Jeroboam 

Zachariah 

Shallum. 

Menahem 

Pekahiah. 

PEKAH. 


CO 

O 






M 


CS cO'* »OMD t^oo ON 


O H CN CO Th lOVO t-^00 


ON 








^V-^ v , 


MMMMMMMMM 


H 




•S3IXSVNAQ 


^ , / 


!0 V3 N 00 
r 


ON 




EATURE 
ODS. 




taking ~\ 
bout 50 > 


ampant, \ 
^8 years, J 


slightly "J 
— about y 


termin- *) 
ruin, in- 
nterreg- ■ 
rom 40 






^2 




03 
>> 1 " 


u 

•j-i Q 


latry 
ecked, 
2 years 

iatry 
ng in 
iding i 
ms, — f 


03 






Idola 
root 
year 

[dola 
— ab 


O 






OX! O'-Sx! 3 
•OU H 13 o3 u C 


O 




w 






t— t *— i 






J 




hh _; 


• • 

H > 










»— < 












t— ( HH 





(157) 



XI 

I— I 

Q 
W 

Oh 
Oh 

< 











•- 1 




J 
w 
< 


JS rG 
M CD 




G c3 

s,- £ •§ X 

o 8.2x£h 

X d v. c3 . 
CD i — , o3 c X 




Pi 

in 
t— i 

fa 


rt g n 




03 
<D 

en 


O 
O 


03 03 •»•{-• ^ 


e 


s 


O 

- X . 

03 






o3 o 


03 
s- . 

O G 
XX 


1 ' -X cu o3 
-> J! u 5'G 

J3 iTj 03 ^ >H 

X o3 N 


03 03-^ 

^^ o 




►^£ < 


CD 
i — . 


CD CD 


CD O v „ . 

• i — > i — > 










,->-> 


^3 










<+-! 


o3 










O ^* 


• M 




*0 rt ^_ 






W 1— ( 

G •"-« 


s 








9 J3 
to • *G 


<D 


W 


"d G <L 






vl-'. v rt 


XI <D 


o 
04 


~ 43 'S 

Xi ^ X 

2 e ct 






1*3 5 

03 O aj 


03 •— » 


Ph 


5 N 1 




^-G sj 

O CD 

<d • — > ^_r 
N 13 


fl G k> o3 
03 o3 rtt 1 rt^D 




m < ± 






"— v— ' ° 


fa t/5 


(A 










Lengt 
of 
Reign; 


t^. CO H lO 00 


M VO 


O ON CN 


VO^O OMOCN M\j.Ms^.M 


M Tf CS 






ttf- CS lO 


H M <N lO CO 1 -^ H «N M 




^ h 






^G 












03 






-5 £ 






03 




«5 



< Ph 

GO i-2 

Ofi en c 
•° c OP 3 


.xl 

<-; o3 

03 "Tj 

35 


N 

< 
U 

-G 3 


^^W 03 g^^^^-O 




H CN CO "tf 1 >OVO 


t^ 00 ON 


O m CN CO rj- \n\D t^OO ON 












MHMMMMMMMM 




V 


^ v_ 






/.^ -v J 


V 




T 


—y— — Y— 




t 


y 




A 


\ 


— ji— i 


f 


/ 


/* ^ ' * 




V> ti.± ^O 






^ ^ «^ 




'O • • • • 




3 £ >CQ 
.2r~" <U 

So^p< : 






G^ 

g:P< <^ 
u 

Q G G 




ft • • • • 

(D 5 03 G 03 


en 


;gxs +j 

DC G 








C .2i <D ;g <D 
U3 > >» U >"» 


Q 


tf 03 g O 

c 2* 

» .b/3 | cr 






o o 




U 0)_ CO _ 


O 






VJ2 


r 


cu -y cyo Q to 

q Ph 00 (— 1 <N 

-d C G — G 


P^ 


52^,2*3 £ 


■> 




CD G 03 <D 
^ 03 > >» 


i-i'i O o3 O 

£££ eg 

[-< t -1 03 ^03 




i— < 






t—i 


• • 

a > 



(158) 



0* 




(159) 




From Teacher-Training Wessons. Hurlbtjt. By permission. 

(160) 



PALESTINE 

in the time of 

CHRIST. 

— *-^> — 

Scale of Miles. 




From Teacher-Training Wessons. Hurlbut. By permission. 
11 (161) 




Copyright l'JOi, lij W. A. Wlldu Company 



